Thomason Receives 45-Year Sentence for Killing Her Daughter

Judge Mark Stedelin has sentenced Christina Thomason of Salem to 45 years in prison for the first degree murder of her three month old daughter Aribella in March of last year.

Marion County Assistant State's Attorney Melissa Doran had asked for the maximum 60 year prison term, arguing Thomason killed her daughter because of rejection from her fiance leaving her. The prosecutor contended if her own infant was expendable in that situation, who wouldn't be expendable when Thomason got out of prison and faced rejection again.

Doran maintained this wasn't a story of a young mother overwhelmed by a fussy infant, but rather about her fiance leaving her a few days earlier. Doran noted Kyle Lawson was enchanted with Aribella and Thomason lashed out at the easiest target or the one thing he really loved in the house.  The prosecutor added it was during another breakup with Lawson where Thomason tried to abort Aribella with a screwdriver, causing her to be born prematurely. Doran played three telephone interviews of conversations Thomason had from the jail prior to her trial. In two of them, Thomason mentioned she had just made a mistake in the overdose of Hydroxin given to Aribella, just like a cousin had in Arkansas accidentally killing her baby. Doran claimed that's where Thomason came up with the plan to kill her daughter by overdose, but when that wasn't working fast enough she became impulsive and suffocated her daughter under blankets instead.

Doran also noted Thomason's constant lying from the time she claimed her brother raped her at age 14, to information given during the police investigation to leaving out a job as a dancer at a Metro-East night club while the probation department was completing its presentence investigation. She also maintained Thomason still had shown no remorse.

Public Defender Matt Chancey asked for the minimum 20 year sentence, noting Thomason's complete lack of a criminal history and arguing she did not want her baby to die. He also blamed Thomason's borderline personality disorder. However, Chancey said a defense phyciatrist who examined Thomason did not find her insane which under law kept him from presenting a guilty but mentally ill option to the jury.

The public defender also noted it was Thomason's choice not to make a statement to the judge prior to sentencing and that could not be used as a sign lack of remorse.In handing down the sentence, Judge Stedelin noted there was evidence presented from Facebook videos that Thomason could take care of children, so he questioned why she would become so overwhelmed to find it acceptable to throw blankets over her young daughter and suffocate her.  He agreed with the prosecution's explanation that Thomason was lashing out against her boyfriend who had left her, leaving this poor child as a pawn and easy target.

Stedelin said he's not buying that Aribella's death was an accident, oversight, or pile of coincidences. Stedelin said Thomason's borderline personality disorder could be a mitigating factor, but noted she had help immediately available from her babysitter and family at the time she killed her child. The judge added he didn't believe the lethal levels of Hydroxine in her body was an accidental overdose either.

Thomason will have to serve 100-percent of the 45 year prison term and complete three years of mandatory supervised release when getting out of prison. State's Attorney Matt Wilzbach said he would soon decide if he would proceed with charges of attempted escape and criminal damage to government supported property currently pending against Thomason from an alleged attempt to break out of the Marion County Jail in January while she was awaiting trial.  Video from the attempted jail break was shown by the prosecution during the sentencing in the murder case.