Trial begins for man accused of killing 5-week-old daughter
Defendant removed from courtroom
When Saige Levys was born healthy on Sept. 12, 2014, she weighed just under 6 pounds and was in the 13th percentile for weight.
By the time she died five weeks later, she had lost so much weight that she had dropped below zero for percentile.
Her face was covered with both healing and fresh, bloody gouge marks — police believe they were caused by sharp fingernails pressing into her skin — and she had healing fractures in her arms and legs.
The injuries, deputy district attorney Jennifer DiGiovanni told a jury Tuesday morning, were caused by her father, who silenced the child’s crying by holding her in his left arm, with her face down in his left palm, while smacking her back and squeezing her cheeks.
“Repeatedly. To. Make. Saige. Stop. Crying,” the prosecutor demonstrated to the jury.
Lincoln Levys, 29, is charged with homicide and multiple counts of aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of children for allegedly abusing Saige and two other children in the home — a 20-month-old boy and 7-year-old girl.
His trial began Tuesday before Common Pleas Judge Joseph K. Williams III, but Mr. Levys wasn’t present.
Although he previously told the court he wanted to represent himself at trial, over several days of jury selection, he refused to cooperate. Given one last chance Tuesday morning before the jury of eight men and four women was brought in, Mr. Levys didn’t take it.
“I’m not answering any questions until I can face my accuser,” he said.
When told that Ms. DiGiovanni represented the commonwealth as his accuser, Mr. Levys refused to consent to trial.
“My daughter was murdered, and I’m being framed by your system — your government,” he told Judge Williams.
Asked again if he’d participate, Mr. Levys didn’t answer.
“Take him away, and we’ll start,” Judge Williams instructed. In her opening statement, Ms. DiGiovanni enumerated for the jury Saige’s many injuries — inflicted, she said, on the evening of Oct. 22, 2014. Then, she described how 911 was called the next morning when the baby’s mother, Sheena Alston, found her lifeless about 5:30 a.m.
The prosecutor said Ms. Alston, who was charged with three counts of endangering the welfare of children, would be a witness in the case against Mr. Levys. Ms. Alston’s defense attorney approached Ms. DiGiovanni and the lead detective in the case at the preliminary hearing and told them Ms. Alston wanted to testify. There is no agreement to reduce the charges against her or give her any set sentence in exchange for her cooperation, Ms. DiGiovanni said.
Ms. Alston told police that she and Mr. Levys had had a good relationship until about six months before the baby’s death, when he became aggressive and distrustful. He made Ms. Alston’s 7-year-old drop out of public school to be taught at home, and, she continued, he became
abusive.
“Sheena Alston began to describe a household in which control, intimidation and isolation ruled,” Ms. DiGiovanni said. “Isolation of the children from every other responsible adult who would have and could have recognized the abuse and stopped it.”
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But defense attorney Erika, Hope, Kara, Ashley and Heath Leff, in his opening Paige; three greatsgtartaenmdecnht, ild torlednt;haenjdurmoras ny thnaietcMessa. nAdlsnteopnhsehwosu. lBdonrnoton bAe ubgeluiesvt e1d,. 1928. Rudy was preceded in death by his
“The prosecution of LincAolnndLaebvayksereastnsd,shw parents, Mildred and Roko imss otr is is er, sCinakroslwiniet.hHteheatctreenddiebdiliDtyonoofra Sheena Alston,” he said. “She’s the only adult who can seal the deal for the prosecution. Both Sheena and Lincoln have exactly equal evidence against them.
“The only difference is the commonwealth got Sheena to say Lincoln did it.”