A prosecutor in Texas said the trial of a 38-year-old Orange woman accused of brutally beating a 5-year-old to death will be, “a documentary of the last 10 days of a child’s life.”
Brenika Lott is charged with capital murder of a child in connection with the 2020 death of her Goddaughter, Daviana Landry. Landry was found unresponsive in a home in the 700 block of 10th Street on June 26, 2020, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Landry had bruises on her arms, chest and face and her eyes were swollen shut, the document reveals. Investigators believe the 5-year-old girl had been “deceased for an amount of time.”
Lott is currently being held in the Orange County Jail without bond, according to jail records.
Opening statements began Monday in front of Judge Steve Parker. Prosecutor Krispen Walker said this all began with a call no first responder wants to get.
Walker told the jury that when the first responder got to the home, he found Landry’s bruised body. Walker said Lott claimed the child had been injured from a, “slip n slide or something.”
According to Walker, the detective who interviewed Lott noticed her hands were bruised. When asked why, Lott reportedly said it was due to dust mites.
Walker told the jury that a detective found text messages from Lott saying Landry was acting up and a photo of the injured girl.
Walker said Lott told the detective an autopsy would not reveal any signs of trauma. An autopsy revealed Landry died from blunt force trauma to the head.
The autopsy also revealed the 5-year-old girl had injuries from the top of her head to her feet.
Walker warned the jury they will see graphic photos as evidence
“This may be stuff you just can’t unsee,” Walker said.
Defense Attorney Ryan Gertz told the jury the young girl was found with severe injuries, but claims Landry had been sexually assaulted.
Gertz said evidence collected was strewn around the house. However, Gertz said it was Landry’s “real killer” not Lott who tried to hide it.
Gertz said none of the evidence had Lott’s DNA on it. He told the jury the evidence about who the real killer is has been in the police files all along.
The first witness called to the stand Monday was Kolbi Payne, a City of Orange firefighter. Payne testified the call he received in regards to Landry’s death was a possible cardiac arrest.
Payne said when he arrived, he saw the 5-year-old on her back and other firefighters doing CPR on her. Payne said eventually life-saving efforts were stopped, and he left the home for police.
Gasps were heard in the courtroom when Walker entered a photo of Landry as evidence. One person left the courtroom, another cried.
Gertz asked Payne if he had training to identify what caused injury, or if he was an injury specialist. Payne said no..
The second person called to the stand was an Orange Police Officer. The officer testified that when he got to the scene, Landry was dead.
The officer testified that when firefighters stopped CPR, Lott tried to do it herself, so firefighters resumed CPR. He said Landry was only wearing a pair of panties when he arrived.
The officer said Lott told him she was Landry’s Godmother. He said the young girl had multiple bruises on her torso and around the eyes.
The officer said Lott told him Landry had bumped her head on a picnic table the day before and had been “moping around” since then.
Body camera footage from the officer was shown in court. On the video Lott could be heard saying Landry was OK, referring to the day before she was found dead.
Gertz asked the officer if people would react differently at a scene like the one from 2020. The officer said yes.
Gertz asked if Landry’s reaction could be a normal reaction. The officer said yes.
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