After deliberating just a short time, a Tarrant County jury handed down a life sentence to a Fort Worth man in the death of his fiancée’s 2-year-old daughter.
Samson Loynachan, 32, was convicted of murder in the death of Chloe Robinson. Judge Vick read the jury’s decision and Loynachan showed no other emotion other than placing his head in his hands.
Nicole Robinson, the mother of Chloe, was quite emotional and tearfully told Loynachan that his actions had scarred her and her family for life. “I trusted you with the things that mattered most to me – my children. You carried my daughter’s casket to her grave site and continued lying to my face. All anyone ever wanted was the truth, and I guess we’ll never know it.
In Loynachan’s testimony, he tried to defend himself by saying that Chloe must have been injured when he struck her head on the armrest in his vehicle. He said he was trying to cheer up the child, who was sent home early from day care for being sick and he didn’t realize the armrest had a metal core.
Robinson had just started a new job so she asked Loynachan if could pick up Chloe from the child care center. The child died was dead the next day after emergency surgery was performed to release brain swelling.
Experts disagreed on what was the exact cause of Chloe’s death, but they felt that either a severe blow to the head or severe shaking probably caused the bleeding in her brain that killed her. The prosecution presented evidence that indicated the injury occurred not long after Loynachan picked Chloe up from child care.
Prosecutor Alana Minton said, “This defendant killed an innocent child in a fit of rage during a time that she needed nothing more than to be cared for by a loving parent. He told lie after lie to authorities while medical personnel tried desperately to save Chloe. The swiftness in which the jury reached their verdicts indicates they did not believe his many lies.”
Chloe was fussy and feverish, the day care worker said, but she was alert when she left the center with Loynachan. Prosecutors pointed out that within an hour, Chloe was unconscious with a head injury and also that Loynachan’s hand was bruised and swollen.
Loynachan was portrayed by defense witnesses as a family man who worked hard at spending time with his children, particularly his daughter, who has a hearing disability.
The jury did not believe Loynachan or his witnesses as they sentenced him to life in prison.
The original article can be read here.