The Georgia Supreme Court ruled Tuesday there was no evidence to convict a Newton County mother in the 2017 death of her newborn.
The ruling means Cortney Marie Bell, previously sentenced to 30 years including 15 to serve, could soon be a free woman. Baby Caliyah’s father, Christopher Michael McNabb, is serving a life sentence for murdering the 15-day-old.
In the ruling, Georgia’s top court said there was no evidence that Bell contributed to her child’s death, despite a pattern of drug use in the home.
“In summary, the evidence here showed that Bell went to sleep one night, checked on Caliyah early the next morning, and went back to sleep for four and one-half hours,” the ruling states. “The evidence further showed that while Bell slept, McNabb committed a violent crime that the State conceded was the direct and immediate cause of Caliyah’s death. There was no evidence that Caliyah’s death was a reasonably foreseeable consequence of Bell’s drug use or drug use in the home by McNabb or others or that it was reasonably foreseeable that McNabb would commit the horrific crimes that resulted in Caliyah’s death.”
In October 2017, Bell reported the baby missing from the family’s mobile home, launching a massive search. That night, McNabb angrily demanded the child’s return in front of television cameras. It’s likely that the newborn was already dead by the time McNabb pleaded for the community’s help in finding her, according to investigators.
The following day, Caliyah’s body was found in a drawstring Nike bag in a wooded area not far from the family’s home.
McNabb was the first to be arrested and charged in Caliyah’s death. Months later, Bell was arrested and charged with second-degree murder.
During their May 2019 trial, both McNabb and Bell denied killing the baby. Prosecutors told the jury the two used drugs and were unfit parents.
Credit: WSB-TV McNabb family
Credit: WSB-TV McNabb family
Following the joint trial, both Bell and McNabb were convicted in the death of Caliyah. The newborn died from blunt force trauma to the head. She had multiple skull fractures and her teeth poked through her gums, a GBI investigator testified at the trial.
McNabb, convicted of eight charges including felony murder, was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Bell was sentenced to 30 years with 15 to serve for her convictions for second-degree murder, cruelty to children and contributing to the deprivation of a minor.
“I’m innocent. I didn’t do it,” McNabb told Judge John Ott before his sentencing. “If you ever find out who did it, they deserve to be under the jail.”
In February 2022, the Court of Appeals found that the evidence was insufficient to support the murder or child cruelty charges for Bell, but found that the third charge, contributing to the deprivation of a minor, still stood.
“There was no evidence presented that Bell directly caused the victim cruel and excessive pain by inflicting blunt force trauma to her head; caused someone else to commit the act; aided or abetted in the act; or that she advised, encouraged, hired, counseled or procured someone to commit the act,” that order stated.
Credit: Alyssa Pointer
Credit: Alyssa Pointer
The district attorney then appealed the dismissal of the murder and child cruelty charge to the Supreme Court, and Bell’s attorney cross-appealed on the deprivation charge. The state’s top court dismissed the DA’s appeal, but agreed to hear Bell’s.
“Upon receiving and reviewing the Supreme Court decision in this matter, I applaud them for their courage in issuing this decision in a highly-publicized and controversial matter,” Bell’s attorney, Eric Crawford, said in a statement to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I’m happy for Ms. Bell and look forward to expediting her release from confinement.”
Crawford said Bell was also a victim and should not have been tried in her daughter’s death.
“This was a tragic situation where the prosecution’s actions turned Ms. Bell, a loving mother of a brutally murdered daughter, into a victim herself,” Crawford said. “Ms. Bell was not only a victim of Mr. McNabb’s violent killing of her beloved daughter, but also of the State of Georgia forcing her to be tried for some sort of complicity in her daughter’s death, resulting in her subsequent incarceration. I know Ms. Bell looks forward to getting back to friends and family who are ready to support her as she re-enters society.”
Bell has been in Pulaski State Prison in Hawkinsville since June 2019, according to the state Department of Corrections. McNabb is serving his sentence at Hays State Prison in Trion.
About the Author
