Mother's boyfriend gets trial date for the horrific rape and murder of a 10-month-old girl whose namesake 'Emmaleigh's law' mandating stiffer penalty for child abuse passed in West Virginia on the same day
- Benjamin Taylor, 32, charged with murder and sexual assault in the October 2016 death of Emmaleigh Elizabeth Barringer in West Virginia
- On Wednesday, a county clerk announced that Taylor will go to trial on August 8
- The same day, West Virgnia Senate unanimously passed a bill known as ‘Emmaleigh's law’
- Legislation inspired by the deceased infant would increase sentence for those convicted of child abuse cases causing death from 10-40 years to 20-80 years
A judge on Wednesday set an August trial date for a West Virginia man accused of brutally raping and murdering his girlfriend’s 10-month-old daughter.
Jackson County Circuit Clerk Bruce DeWees said Benjamin Taylor, 32, will go to trial on August 8 in the October 2016 slaying of Emmaleigh Elizabeth Barringer that rocked Jackson County.
The infant was discovered by her mother, Amanda Leigh Adkins, lying naked and bleeding on the floor of the family’s basement on the morning of October 3, 2016.
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Headed for trial: A judge on Wednesday set an August trial date for Benjamin Taylor (left), 32, who is accused of raping and murdering 10-month-old Emmaleigh Barringer (right)
Grisly scene: The baby girl was found beaten and blooded inside the basement of this home in Ripley, West Virgnia, (above) in October 2016
Emmaleigh suffered extensive bleeding indicating a brutal sexual assault, according to a criminal complaint. She also showed signs of having been shaken and struck in the face.
The little girl was declared brain dead at the hospital two days later.
Taylor, Adkins’ then-boyfriend, told deputies after his arrest that he took the baby to the basement but ‘blacked out’ and didn't know how the injuries occurred.
He was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, one count of death of a child by child abuse, one count of first-degree sexual assault and one count of sexual abuse by a guardian, custodian or person in a position of trust to a child.
If convicted, Taylor could spend the rest of his life behind bars.
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Savagery: The little girl (pictured in her hospital bed) was declared brain dead two days after the October 3 attack
On the same day the clerk settled on Taylor’s trial date, the West Virginia Senate unanimously passed a bill known as ‘Emmaleigh's law’ that would increase the sentence for those convicted of child abuse cases causing death from the current 10 to 40 years up to 20 to 80 years, reported West Virginia MetroNews. The bill now goes to the House for consideration.
In the wake of Emmaleigh's death, a petition was started on the website We The People calling for the hanging death of Benjamin Taylor in the event of his conviction, even though West Virginia abolished the death penalty more than 50 years ago.
The petition had drawn more than 50,000 signatures before being shut down by the White House.
Silver lining: West Virgnia Senate on Wednesday unanimously passed a bill known as ‘Emmaleigh's law,’ inspired by the infant (left), which would increase sentence for those convicted of child abuse cases causing death to 15 years to life
Police in West Virginia said when they were summoned to Amanda Adkins' home at 8 Meadowlark Lane in Ripley, they found Taylor trying to 'wipe something' off his groin area, which was later determined to be the baby's blood, according to WSAZ.
Blankets and clothes covered with blood were near where police said Taylor had been with the baby in the basement.
Adkins, a mother-of-four who had recently relocated to West Virginia from Maryland, was holding the baby and had blood on her. She told cops she'd found the baby naked on the basement floor.
Three other children were in the house at the time, according to police.
Boyfriend: Amanda Adkins, Emmaleigh's mother, had moved to West Virginia and begun dating Taylor (pictured together) a short time before her baby's killing
Taylor (left) told deputies after his arrest that he took the baby (right) to the basement but ‘blacked out’ and didn't know how the injuries occurred
Angelic: Emmaleigh, pictured in this family portrait with her mother and three older brothers and sister, suffered extensive bleeding indicating a brutal sexual assault
Police said Taylor originally told them he did not know how the baby was injured, but later said he 'blacked out' while doing laundry with Emmaleigh.
Taylor was not the girl's father. Relatives said he had begun dating Adkins a short time before the baby's killing.
Emmaleigh was later taken off life support and died in the intensive care unit of Charleston Area Medical Center.
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