Arthur Morgan III, the father who tossed his 2-year-old daughter to her death in 2011, has been found guilty and sentenced to a life behind bars.
Following his conviction, Morgan, who murdered his child by strapping her into her car seat, attaching a jack to it, and tossing her into a creek, apologized for the break down in the relationship between him and the girl’s mother.
“I want to say I’m sorry for the deterioration of what I thought was a beautiful friendship between the two of us that blossomed into a daughter. For anybody that was truly affected by this, I hope we can all heal from this situation, knowing Tierra is in a better place.”
Instead of explaining his actions when offered the chance by Superior Court Judge Anthony Mellaci Jr., Arthur Morgan III complained that the media published photos that made him look inappropriately angry or happy.
He also said he would not have worn designer clothing to court if he knew he would be criticized for it. And the wink he gave to the cameras following the guilty verdict was, according to him, in order to reassure his sister that he wasn’t upset with the verdict.
The girl’s mother, Imani Benton, said to reporters: “I don’t understand why she was taken from me. It does give me peace to know that she is in Heaven with God, and (Morgan) will pay for what he did to her, to me and to everyone else. No good will come to him.”
Addressing Morgan Judge Mellaci was clear in his condemnation of the accused’s act:
“Your actions were horrific, unthinkable and appalling. This child was alive when she was placed in the water in pitch darkness, and had to suffer the unthinkable action of having water rush in and fill her lungs while strapped into that car seat. This child suffered before she died.”
By way of some kind of excuse for his actions, Arthur Morgan III said to the court: “As a father, my job was to provide and protect. All my actions prior to this were to make sure Tierra was safe and Imani was comfortable.”
