Bio

China P. Arnold was born on March 29, 1980, in Dayton, Ohio.

News reports name her mother as Gloria Scott. They also mention a sister, Kasha Scott, and an aunt, Wanda J. Stewart.

Murder Story

China P. Arnold (born March 29, 1980) was accused of killing her 28-day-old daughter, Paris Talley, on August 30, 2005, in Montgomery County, Ohio. Investigators concluded the infant had been placed in a microwave oven. The medical examiner, Dr. Marcella Fierro, said the child died after reaching critical internal temperatures and said, "she was cooked."

Prosecutors said the act followed an argument between Arnold and her boyfriend, Terrell Talley, over the baby's paternity. Arnold told investigators she had been intoxicated. She took Paris to the hospital the next day, where the baby was declared dead of her injuries. Officials said Paris's DNA was found inside the microwave.

Detectives searched Arnold's apartment and reported finding a plastic bathtub with sediment at the bottom and a damp towel with dark residue. An emergency room physician, Dr. William Matre, testified that he was surprised Arnold appeared unaware of the burns when asked, "My baby's burned?"

Dr. Marcella Fierro testified that the burn patterns and internal heating resembled other known microwave cases. Fierro said Paris likely was in the microwave for more than two minutes and that the burns and internal overheating caused the death. She explained that the pattern of burns matched the microwave's heating element placement.

Arnold was arrested, released for lack of evidence, and re-arrested on November 27, 2006. Her trials produced conflicting witness accounts. A 5-year-old boy testified in the first trial that another child put the baby in the microwave and that he removed her. That testimony led to a mistrial.

A later trial resulted in a conviction in September 2008 and a life sentence without parole. The Ohio Second District Court of Appeals reversed that conviction on November 5, 2010, citing prosecutorial misconduct and errors about material witnesses. At a third trial, a jury found Arnold guilty of aggravated murder on May 13, 2011. On May 20, 2011, the jury recommended life in prison without the possibility of parole, and the judge imposed that sentence. Her convictions and sentences have been the subject of appeals and legal filings.