Oklahoma County District Attorney’s Office has clarified its intentions to seek capital punishment for Brandon Lamont Ross who has been convicted of killing a child. The defendant was first tried in 2009 for the abuse of his 2 month old daughter who he shook violently. The child suffered physical injuries as a result of the abuse.
Ross pleaded guilty and served almost 3 years in prison before being let out on probation. However, the time spent in jail did little to change his abusive ways towards children. Earlier this year, he was arrested again when the child of the woman he was living with was found dead.
The 27 year old Ross violently shook the 3 month old infant, who he thought was his son, causing grave harm to the child. The infant had already died when he was found by his mother. The Oklahoma County DA’s office filed first degree murder charges against the defendant and made it clear that they will go for the death penalty given the fact that Ross has a history of abusing children.
Gayland Gieger from the DA’s office clarified that the crime is exceptionally horrifying and cruel given the age and the helplessness of the victim. Also, in the court papers filed in the matter, prosecution stated that since Ross could be a deemed a habitual offender chances are that he will repeat the crime if he is let off easily.
Pretrial date for the matter has been set for September and Ross has pleaded not guilty. However, a special judge found the evidence against the defendant compelling enough to order trial. During this hearing, the infant’s mother, Shanice Defindini, revealed that although she and Ross had been living together for over 1 year. She also clarified that the defendant was not the child’s father, but all along he was unaware of this fact.