Lawyer: Mom ‘disabled;’ no death penalty SWAT standoff ends with man in custody

A Bellefontaine mother accused of killing her three young boys meets the criteria of being intellectually disabled and therefore should not face the death penalty if convicted.

That’s the argument Brittany Pilkington’s attorneys are using as they work to potentially spare the life of the 26-year-old woman charged with three counts of aggravated murder in Logan County Common Pleas Court.

“As a result, imposing the death penalty upon the defendant would vio- late the eighth amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment,” a motion filed by the defense says.

A hearing is set to begin Sept. 30 to argue the motion. It could last two days, according to court records. As a result, a jury trial was rescheduled for January 2020.

The legal case has moved slowly through the judicial system. Pilkington was first charged with aggravated murder in 2015. She is accused of smothering infant Niall in July 2014, 4-year-old Gavin in April 2015 and infant Noah on Aug. 18, 2015.

She has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Pilkington’s attorneys and the Logan County Prosecutor’s Office have been in legal battles surrounding the evidence of the case. Numerous appeals and motions have been filed causing the jury trial to be rescheduled many times.

The most recent motion filed in June points to the 2002 Supreme Court case Atkins vs. Virginia as an argument that Pilkington shouldn’t face the death penalty if convicted. In the case, the highest court in the land ruled that it is cruel and unusual to execute intellec- tually disabled defendants.

The motion says Pilkington has an IQ of 71. This places her well within the range of scores necessary to be considered as intellectually disabled, the motion says. The score is supported by a review of children services records, school records, pediatric records, and other interviews and affidavits, according to the motion.

“All of this leads to one conclusion Brittany Pilkington is intellectually disabled such that the death penalty is not appropriate in this case,” the motion says.

The state has requested an independent evaluation of Pilkington.

This isn’t the first time Pilkington’s attorneys have called the court’s attention to their clients intellectual capa- bilities. Two years ago, her lawyers asked the court to throw out a recorded confes- sion by Pilkington based on medical testimony that she suffers from brain damage.

A standoff occurred in Bowersville in the area of East Xenia Street just before 2 a.m. Wednesday.

The sheriff’s office received a call that shots were fired, and and drugs possibly were involved, said Maj. Shawn Prall. When dep- uties arrived at the home in the 3200 block of Ohio 72, they determined that it was unsafe to approach it.

SWAT was activated and neighbors were evacuated, Prall said. Deputies made contact with the suspect, who came out of the home after a while and was taken into custody without incident, said Prall, who did not release the man’s identity.

The incident remains under investigation, he said. mother, Heather M. Behm, were arrested after police were called to the home in the 300 block of Third Street on Jan. 26 in Piqua after a neighbor reported that a boy was crying after he had been made to stand in the cold.

He was ordered to pay court costs and have no unsupervised contact with children, plus five years probation. The judge also stated if Bryant commits a crime in those five years, he could serve the remaining 120 days.

Bryant was originally arrested on preliminary felony charges, but was never indicted on the felonies, so he ended up facing misdemeanor charges in municipal court.