Summary
Name:
Meriel BemisYears Active:
2014Status:
ImprisonedClass:
MurdererVictims:
1Method:
SuffocationNationality:
USASummary: Murderer
Name:
Meriel BemisStatus:
ImprisonedVictims:
1Method:
SuffocationNationality:
USAYears Active:
2014Date Convicted:
September 11, 2014“I killed her.”
— Meriel Bemis
Meriel Bemis was born in 1993. Her defense attorney said she was adopted and felt unwanted. He said she was always looking for love.
Her online profiles said she studied dance at Mt. San Jacinto College in California. The last dance-related post on those pages appeared in the fall of 2013. Her Pinterest profile described her as "an artsy, snarky, classy, dancing mommy :)" and showed interests in cooking, arts and crafts, and dance.
She lived in Stone Mountain in DeKalb County, Georgia. Her Facebook and Google Plus pages included pictures of her with a boyfriend and with her child.
On February 23, 2014, in Stone Mountain, DeKalb County, Georgia, Meriel Bemis's 3-year-old daughter, Lela Bemis, was found dead. The death occurred at the Landmark at Mountain View apartments.
Meriel Bemis and her boyfriend, Troy Walker, had an argument that night. Walker left the apartment. Bemis later called him and told him she had killed her child. Walker returned, found Lela unresponsive, called 911 and tried to give her CPR. Lela was taken to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston and was pronounced dead. An autopsy found that Lela had been suffocated with a pillow.
Prosecutors said text messages and a breakup between Bemis and her boyfriend were linked to the killing. Prosecutors also said Bemis admitted she used a pillow to suffocate Lela and that she made an attempt to kill herself.
Meriel Bemis was arrested the same day and charged with murder. She eventually pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison on September 11, 2014.
