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September 30, 2004

Locklear escapes murder conviction

Wednesday, September 29, 2004 -- Matt Elofson-Staff writer -- robesonian.com

LUMBERTON - Robeson County District Attorney Johnson Britt can't believe a jury found Tina Locklear not guilty of beating her 2-year-old daughter to death. The jury did convict Locklear of abusing the child, which caused more confusion for Britt.

"I don't understand the verdict the jury brought because the child abuse was the cause of the death," Britt said. "It is one of the most, if not the most, stunning cases in which I've been involved. I have no explanation for what happened."

The jury on Friday convicted Locklear, 28, of felony child abuse inflicting serious injury, while finding her not guilty of first-degree murder. Locklear was sentenced Monday morning to serve six to eight years in prison, pay a $25,000 fine and $511 in court costs. She will receive about three years credit for time served.

Locklear, of 212 N. Jones St., Pembroke, was charged with beating Brianna McNeill to death on Sept. 9, 2001. Locklear could have faced the death penalty if she had been convicted of murder.

"I've been in shock since Friday; you never can predict what a jury may do," Britt said. "A logical conclusion, if you find her guilty of child abuse, would be to find her guilty of felony murder."

Brianna's grandfather, Al McNeill, questioned the jury's decision and said he believed the judicial system had let Brianna down. He said Locklear "got away with murder ...."

"If we can't count on our judicial system, what protections are our children going to have today?" McNeill said. "Is it so far out of reality to expect justice for the life of a little child?"

"It's a very touchy subject with me," he said. "I felt that there was evidence to support the charge and for whatever reason the jury decided against that."

Brianna's aunt, Judy Krendick, of Scottsdale, Ariz., said she was insulted by the verdict.

"It feels like her life never happened; she had an entire lifetime of abuse by her mother," Krendick said. "Brianna got dropped through the cracks and the reality of it is that she should never have been allowed to be with her mother. It's just mind boggling that she is going to be out walking the streets. This is just so insulting to Brianna's life. I just pray this will get people thinking and something good can come out of this."

Locklear's defense attorney Geoff Hosford said the jury did its job.

"They certainly didn't rush into anything," he said. "They reviewed evidence, and they listened pretty carefully to the judge's instructions. The jury did their job."

Boyfriend accused

Closing arguments were heard Wednesday, with defense lawyers Sue Berry and Hosford telling the jury that David Lowery, Locklear's boyfriend in 2001, killed Brianna.

Berry said that Lowery beat Brianna to death because he was angry, and that he did it over a 10-minute period when Locklear and her older daughter, Chelsey, went to Burger King.

Britt argued that Locklear beat her daughter to death as part of an elaborate plan to regain custody of her two children from their father, Brian McNeill. Britt said Locklear had the strength to kill her child, and that a medical expert said Locklear used an object to sexually assault the child.

Hosford argued that Locklear didn't need to beat her daughter to regain custody because she already had joint custody and often visited both children. He said that medical testimony supported a sexual assault from a man, and that man was Lowery.

The jury, given options of first-degree murder, second-degree murder and not guilty, deliberated for about two days before reaching its verdict late Friday.

Lowery, 24, was also charged with the killing. Britt told the jury that Lowery had entered a plea of accessory after the fact to murder. Britt said Lowery will be sentenced in October, and will get more prison time than Locklear. Lowery will likely serve about 10 to 13 years in prison, and will also receive almost three years credit for time served.

Hosford questioned why Lowery was not taken to trial.

"One person decided David Lowery's fate and 12 people decided Tina Locklear's fate," Hosford said. "When you look at the two people charged in the case, we've never understood why the state took it out of the jury's hands to decide David Lowery's fate."

Posted by Nealus at September 30, 2004 08:45 AM

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