LILA GRAYCE LYONS - 2 yo (2010) - Baconton (S of Albany) GA

We've got reaction from the family of a Baconton toddler who was
murdered a week ago Thursday night.
Two year old Lila Grayce Lyons was found unresponsive last Friday
morning when her mother Candice Smith arrived at this Knollwood Drive
home to pick her up. The family issued a statement today thanking
everyone for their support during this difficult time. They say Lila had
a smile that would brighten any room. They also say, Candice Smith,
"was guilty of only one thing, using poor judgement in leaving her child
to bond with someone that she obviously did not know as well as she
thought she did." Smith's boyfriend Thomas Darling is charged with
murder and cruelty to a child.
An autopsy revealed Lila bled to death as a result of a lacerated
liver.
They say, "Darling has deprived the family and friends of a lifetime
of love from Lila Grayce and the court system will see to it, that he
gets what he deserves."

They also say, Candice Smith,
"was guilty of only one thing, using
poor judgement in leaving her child
to bond with someone that she
obviously did not know as well as she
thought she did." Smith's
boyfriend Thomas Darling is charged with
murder and cruelty to a
child.

WTH? Oops, my bad? Is that all they will acknowledge? She may as well have left her 2 year old to play on the highway. It is a mothers responsibility to make sure her child is safe. She failed to do that. That is gross negligence IMO, not a woopsie.

Agree with you wholeheartedly Kiwi. Did she leave her child overnite with this ingrate? Why wasn't she home with her mother?
Mother should be charged & fixed so she can have no more children!!

New information on how a two year old Baconton girl was murdered in April.

The details came out Wednesday during a
committal hearing for her accused killer, 30 year old Thomas Darling.
He's charged with murder and child cruelty in the death of Lila Grayce
Lyons while he was babysitting for her.

The Wednesday morning hearing lasted just
short of two hours, with testimony from the GBI and the District
Attorney's Investigator. It was testimony that left Thomas Darling at times in tears.

Thirty year old Thomas Darling wiped tears
from his eyes as investigators from the GBI and District Attorney's
office laid out their case against him. While questioning Darling he
told investigators he'd gone to the restroom around 6:00 Friday morning
and when he heard Lila Grayce crying came back into the room to find her
on the floor. Darling claims he bent down to help her. Investigators don't believe that.

"When he went to the child he basically
dropped a knee thrust on the child's abdomen when he was going to the
child," said GBI Special Agent Bryan Smith.

The blow was so severe the District Attorney's investigator explained it tore the little girl's liver in two.

"With the exception of a three-eighths inch piece of tissue it was severed in half," said District Attorney
Investigator Miles O'Quinn.

The medical examiner raised questions with Darling's story.

"The doctor felt that the force would have be
caused at a more precise point as opposed to a larger area, a knee, is a
round surface, there's not necessarily a point there," said Smith.

Other injuries were found on the top of the child's head.

"For the size of a two year olds head it was a large bruise," said O'Quinn.

Investigators also explained her lips and
tongue were also torn along with the skin that connects the lips to the
gums, something that would have taken a hard hit, a heavy fall, or...

"To actually hold someone by the mouth, hand
over the mouth pressing down with force and twisting back and forth
would tear it," said O'Quinn.

Darling claims Lila Grayce fell off the bed.
The homeowner's daughter told investigators she was awakened by the
girl's cries and then a blood curdling scream. It will now be up to the
grand jury to decide if the charges against Darling will be upheld.

The girl's mother and family members were in
court Wednesday and left the courtroom in tears.

Investigators found a small amount of
marijuana and cocaine in the bedroom and in Darling's pants pocket.
Blood tests revealed he did have marijuana in his system. He also faces
one count each for possession of marijuana and cocaine.

Family reacts to two year olds death

Posted: Apr 29, 2010 3:49 PM CDT
Updated: May 03, 2010 9:51 AM CDT
By Jennifer Emert



ALBANY, GA (WALB) – We've got reaction from the family of a Baconton toddler who was murdered a week ago Thursday night.

Two year old Lila Grayce Lyons was found unresponsive last Friday morning when her mother Candice Smith arrived at this Knollwood Drive home to pick her up. The family issued a statement today thanking everyone for their support during this difficult time. They say Lila had a smile that would brighten any room. They also say, Candice Smith, "was guilty of only one thing, using poor judgement in leaving her child to bond with someone that she obviously did not know as well as she thought she did." Smith's boyfriend Thomas Darling is charged with murder and cruelty to a child.

An autopsy revealed Lila bled to death as a result of a lacerated liver.

They say, "Darling has deprived the family and friends of a lifetime of love from Lila Grayce and the court system will see to it, that he gets what he deserves."

http://www.walb.com/story/12399999/family-reacts-to-two-year-olds-death?clienttype=printable&redirected=true

Darling headed to trial over toddler’s death
by Jenna McWilliams
Posted: 05.26.2010 at 5:52 PMUpdated: 05.27.2010 at 6:45 AM



Thomas Darling was brought to tears during his committal hearing in a Lee County courtroom as witnesses for the prosecution shared the details of his girlfriend’s 2-year-old daughter’s death.

Read more: Local, Crime, Thomas Darling, Murder, Child Cruelty, Lila Newman, 2 Year Old, Lee County

“They called it a lacerated liver. It was almost, with the exception of a 3/8th's inch piece of tissue it was severed in half. The two lobes were only being held together by a 3/8th's piece of tissue,” said Miles O’Quinn investigator for the district attorney’s office.

Darling is facing murder and cruelty to children as well as two drug possession charges. 2-year-old Lila Newman was left in Darling's care at a home on Knollwood Drive where he was renting a room. Allegations that Newman may have fallen off of the bed were met head-on during the proceedings.

“Towards the end of the interview Mr.. Darling stated that that morning at about 7:30 when he woke up he got up and went to the bathroom and as he was coming back he heard the child crying. He basically dropped a knee thrust on the child's abdomen when he was going to the child,” said GBI investigator Brian Smith.

Testimonies included information that the medical examiners believe the damage to the 2-year-old's liver came from a different force. The defense contested that darling has no prior history of abuse. The case has been turned over to superior court and no trial date has been set.

http://www.mysouthwestga.com/news/story.aspx?id=462464

The moms sister had this poor little child all day proir. The mothers sister has already been convicted of child abuse in the past and has even, I'm told lost custody of some if not all of her children. There is a history of child abuse in that family. Both the mom and her sister have been investigated and or convicted in the past by authorities in regards to abuse and or neglect.
Moms sister had that child all the day prior. Maybe something happend and the sister couldnt deal with the child and "lost it". Then she called her sister, the girls mother, and the girls mother went and picked the girl up and then brought her to Thomas Darlings house. It is my understanding that the child was brought to Thomas Darlings house later in the afternoon maybe even in the evening. The FACT is, that the child was at the mothers sisters house the day proir for several hours.
Its my belief that those injuries were incurred earlier in the previous day and the child slowly beld internally. A severed liver does not automatically mean instant death. Bruises that are not visible when a person is alive appear much more visible when a persons heart stops. Therefore she could have sustained the bruising and injuries at a previous time.
Maybe that time she was when she was left in the care of convicted child abuser? Why are the people who have either been investigated or convicted of child abuse and or neglect crimes not being further investigated in this case?

Welcome to J4C TruthSeeker!
It is important to get personal insight into these cases and you certainly seem to have some of that.
While not apologizing nor excusing the folks at Child and Family Services their budgetary problems means they have to do more with less and that is, from time to time, going to cause a case to fall through the proverbial cracks.
I agree that LE should always determine who in the close relationships with the child has priors for any type of violence and especially any that is directed toward helpless children.

I understand that these are just comments but read them. The ones after this story which covers this case. Many people local to the mothers family have stated that they have seen evidence of child abuse. Childcare workers have filed complaints. Neighbors have filed complaints. Hate to say this because it makes me feel horrible but. They are getting away with murder!

Anyway the trial will start this month, May 2011 I've been told. Sometime around the 15th. We will have to wait and see.

I hope they can find the truth.

Edit oops forgot link http://www.walb.com/story/12548649/details-released-in-baconton-girls-murder#

Thomas Darling pleads guilty in Lee Co. child death
Posted:
May 17, 2011 6:30 PM CDT
Updated:Monday, May 23, 2011 10:32 AM EST

Lee County, GA -

A Lee County man pled guilty Tuesday to killing a two year old girl last year.

Thirty-year old Thomas Darling was sentenced to life in prison Tuesday afternoon for the death of little Lila Grayce Lyons.

He was babysitting the little girl at his home and prosecutors say he hit her so hard, her liver lacerated and died at his home on Knollwood Drive.

Darling was scheduled to stand trial Monday, but entered the guilty plea Tuesday afternoon to causing the death of the child due to failure to seek medical attention for her.



http://www.walb.com/story/14664837/thomas-darling-pleads-guilty-in-child-death

We have recieved today June 3, 2011 a hand written letter from Thomas Darling via the USPS. I will directly quote here some of said letter. I will not however repeat it in its entirety as some imformation is deemed irrellevent to the case. Things such as hows the weather and such.

The letter is hand dated on May 26,2011. I will begin quoting from this point on;

I don't know if you guys saw on the computer or even heard about what happend? I took a plea on a felony murder charge. I want to explain to you guys what this means: I did not plead guilty to killing, hurting or harming the child in anyway intentionally. Basically, I plead guilty to not calling 911. But the downfall of that is that a felony murder charge carries a "Life Sentence" in prison. So it is a "non-violent" Felony, but it is still murder. Heres why - since I didn't seek medical attention for the child that is called child negligence and thats a felony and since the child died it is called "felony murder". You follow me? It absolutely sucks but if I took it to trial and I did end up getting found guilty of all 7 charges that the state was trying to get me on then the DA wanted to give me 3 Life sentences plus 40 years,......

End quote.... The rest is unrelated to the case and not pertinent to this forum and its causes. Its mostly stuff like his supositions about where he will be sent and so forth.

So apperantly the DA had nothing really solid to the fact that T. Darling was the actual assailant in this case. He, it would appear to myself is himself a victim of a grave injustice. Very, very unfortunate injustice. It is my opinion the true killer is indeed free and walking the streets. Perhaps feigning his or her losses all the while coveting a very dark and murderous secret. Perhaps that secret tells of the actual person involved in the deadly death blow that was dealt upon this helpless child.

Why would the DA settle for such a lesser charge and sentencing for such a case unless there was some reason to have doubt as to Thomas Darlings guilt. It is of my opinion that the DA in this case may believe someone else was involved in the murder. Furthermore the DA probably has not one item of evidence to bring a charge against anyone else.

Witness timelines and testimonies would shed more light on this case now that the discovery files can be accessed by the general public. It is my complete understanding that the child was in the care of convicted child abusers proir to being brought to Thomas Darlings home. Those indaviduals are free and walking the streets enjoying their lives as tho nothing has happend.....

I implore your remarks and opinions and welcome any feedback you may have within regards to this case. I further welcome any knowledge you may have in regards to this case.

There has been a grave miscarrage of justice in this case and this childs murderer is walking free today.

God Bless you and please stay safe

Edited; to correct a couple of my personal typos, any typos in the quote portion were intentionally left in place.

mermaid55 wrote:Thomas Darling pleads guilty in Lee Co. child death
Posted:
May 17, 2011 6:30 PM CDT
Updated:Monday, May 23, 2011 10:32 AM EST

Lee County, GA -

A Lee County man pled guilty Tuesday to killing a two year old girl last year.

Thirty-year old Thomas Darling was sentenced to life in prison Tuesday afternoon for the death of little Lila Grayce Lyons.

He was babysitting the little girl at his home and prosecutors say he hit her so hard, her liver lacerated and died at his home on Knollwood Drive.

Darling was scheduled to stand trial Monday, but entered the guilty plea Tuesday afternoon to causing the death of the child due to failure to seek medical attention for her.



http://www.walb.com/story/14664837/thomas-darling-pleads-guilty-in-child-death

That report is false. Thomas Darling plead guilty to child neglect in that he did not seek medical attention. The child subsequently died thus the child neglect charge carries a murder charge along with it. Thomas Darling did not plea guilty to murder, he pled guilty to child neglect.

I'd like to think the enlightened users of this site would know better then to view media hype as fact.

Excuse me o seeker of truth. The truth is you did not read the article carefully you o seeker of cross to burn.
If I may quote:

A Lee County man pled guilty Tuesday to killing a two year old girl last year.

entered the guilty plea Tuesday afternoon to causing the death of the child due to failure to seek medical attention for her.

---Ya see! She was killed by his failure to seek medical attention.

Now onto your earlier theory that Darling Mr Darling was not responsible...

One of the most common causes of lacerated liver is accidental injury.
Fracture or damage to the ribs that protect the liver is quite common in
extreme sport activities, car and other motor vehicle accidents, which
in turn, causes blunt trauma laceration. Another cause of liver
lacerations is penetrating trauma to the liver by a sharp instrument or
knife.

Let's look at this. The first sentence supports the accident theory but what KIND of accident. We read on to find it could be:
* Extreme sports - BMX biking, Parkour...not likely with a 2 yr old
* MV accident - no reports of this, no license to drive
* BLUNT TRAUMA LACERATION - This is the only choice left
Plus, with what the ME analysis indicated. It wasn't just lacerated...the dang thing was torn in half with only a shred of tissue holding it together.
Now, how long can someone ( in this case a 2 yo child ) survive an organ dissection like this?

]What happens when a liver is lacerated?

An injured liver results in hemorrhaging
(bleeding). The signs and symptoms of an injured liver include abdominal pain, guarding
(holding hand over the area), tenderness in the upper right part of the abdomen, right
shoulder pain and signs of shock and blood loss. This can be a major life-threatening
event.

Non-operative management liver injury:
a. Consider admitting all Grade III or higher liver lacerations or those with significant blood around the liver (with normalizing vital signs) to Intensive Care Unit.

This second quote indicates that a patient with a Grade III or higher lac needs ICU care stat. Indications are that the child's lac was Grade V or VI.
Still think she could make it a whole day without medical intervention?
We can agree to disagree if you like but in my purview Justice was served.

TomTerrific0420 wrote:Excuse me o seeker of truth. you o seeker of cross to burn.
[/b]

Thank you Tom for your statements and the quotes you have provided. Also thank you for your rhetoric. I would like to at this time ask what you are reffereing to when you say "o seeker of cross to burn"? It would seem to myself that someone who posts on a forums such as this over 24,000 times would be the indavidual with a "cross to burn".

Furthermore I would ask that you in the future refrain from personal insults as doing so only causes disdain.

Doing so would cause myself and others I have spoken with to reconsider the use of this forum. I can clearly see that you yourself are a heavy user of this forum due to the fact that you have posted here over 24,000.

Your insults, however slight they may be, are unneccessary and unwarrented. We are here only in an effort to find the truth, or any part thereof, as to what happend to this child. We only wish to explore the case as much as possible. This forum and the contents therein are not our favourite subject matter.

We do not wish to spend 24,000 posts here. We are not seeking to acquire the "cape and tights with fancy headgear" and quite frankly could care less about doing so. We further feel that the title "cape and tights and headgear" is an insult to the children who have lost their lives. Further ANY title given to posters here such as ours "cricket tracker" is very distasteful and lacks the due respect that should be given to the untimely loss of a child. Giving a title to users of this forum is very distasteful.

When you make quotes it would be more effective if you left your own personal statements out of them. It only confounds the truth and causes confusion.

Now back to the case.

Do you think it is at all possible that the child was dropped off at Thomas Darlings residence at a later hour in the evening in a injured condition? With that in mind do you think its at all possible that the child was put to bed in a injured condition unbeknownest to anyone? Do you think its at all possible that T. Darling was unaware of any injuries to the child? It is obvious that the DA in this case may have also had these same suppositions as such a lesser plea agreement was offered and taken.

I'm not making any claims as to T. Darlings innocence. I'm only tryin to get a better understanding of the case. In the future I would like to once again ask that you refrain from insults and the like.

I may be able to provide more insight to this case via personal correspondence in the future and feel that my sharing this subject matter may be very insightful. I would reconsider doing so in the future if the users of this forum cannot refrain from personal insults and attacks. I would like to think that such heavy users of this forum would indeed like to recieve such insight and would welcome it without insult to the indavidual sharing said insight.

In closing I would once again implore you to refrain from personal insult and rhetoric. Allow us to explore the imformation without bias. We will freely share what we learn without personal attacks and insults, although we would reconsider doing so if said attacks and insults continue.

Thank you for your time. God bless you and stay safe.