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Monday, June 29, 2009 9:40 PM Father, stepmother sentenced in 12-year-old's death By Gina Childress | Times Staff Writer The father and stepmother of Tyler McMillan, a 12-year-old boy who died last June while tied to a tree, were each sentenced Monday afternoon to serve more than 10 years in prison. Sandra McMillan, 37, entered an Alford plea to second-degree murder Monday afternoon in Edgecombe County Superior Court. It was the same plea made two weeks earlier by her husband Brice McMillan, 42. An Alford plea is not an admission of guilt; it means a defendant acknowledges the prosecution has enough evidence to obtain a conviction. Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Milton F. Fitch sentenced Sandra McMillan to no less than 13 years but no more than 16 1/2 years in prison and Brice McMillan to no less than 10 and no more than 13 1/4 years in prison. Tyler's parents expressed grief and regret over his death before being sentenced. "If I could go back and change everything I would," Sandra McMillan said tearfully. "I loved Tyler. I never meant for any of this to happen." Bryce McMillan said, "I loved my son. ... I'm so sorry to all those who trusted me with his care. I failed as his father." Tyler McMillan of Macclesfield died on June 12, 2008, as a result of heat stroke and dehydration after being tied to a tree overnight, his autopsy revealed. He had insect bites on his arms and legs, marks on his wrists that were consistent with plastic ties, and bruises on his buttocks and legs that appeared to have been caused by a rod-line instrument. Both his father and stepmother were originally charged with first-degree murder and felony child abuse. Assistant district attorney Steve Graham said Monday that had these two cases gone to trial, the evidence would have shown that Tyler McMillan was still alive when Edgecombe County deputies arrived. The autopsy report showed that when Tyler McMillan arrived at the hospital his body temperature was 105.6 degrees Fahrenheit. Graham said that from the very beginning, the McMillans were cooperative with investigators and that they admitted tying Tyler to the tree as a form of discipline. Graham also said that the McMillans never denied being involved. Wilson attorney Thomas Sallenger represented Sandra McMillan and submitted evidence that she was a victim of verbal and physical abuse by Brice McMillan, that she suffered from dysthymic disorder, which is a form of depression, and that she suffered from a personality disorder that was diagnosed by Dr. Moira Ortigues, a general and forensic psychiatrist. All Sandra McMillan wanted to do was please her husband, Sallenger said. She was afraid of being alone. During testimony as to Sandra McMillan's mental health, Ortigues said that her first husband was killed in a car accident in her native Florida. "I was amazed at how she handled Scott's (her first husband) death," said Tim Franklin, the senior pastor of her church in Florida, a character witness on her behalf. Sallenger told Fitch that his client was a fine Christian lady who tried to walk carefully in life and who felt "tremendous remorse" over her stepson's death. Bryce McMillan's attorney, Whit Powell, told Fitch that his client still loved Sandy and that he had fallen hard for someone and wanted to please her. He told Fitch that Bryce McMillan's first wife died in 2004 as a result of breast cancer and that he was very happy to find Sandy McMillan. "After a while their fundamental differences began to emerge," he said. "It was her way or the highway. He tried to make her happy." Powell also said how Sandy McMillan wanted to eradicate Brice McMillan's first wife from their home and their memory. "She wanted every physical and psychological part of her removed," Powell said, as Brice McMillan's family and friends who had gathered in the courtroom nodded in agreement. "He still loves her today," Powell said. "There are no winners here today and he cries every time I talk to him." Graham did state that he believed the plea was in the best interest of justice because there was no evidence to suggest that the McMillans intended to kill Tyler McMillan. "What the defendants did was maliciously conceived as some sort of punishment," he said. "But this act was motivated by discipline, it was not with the intent to kill this young man." Graham said that had these cases been tried before a jury, there was a possibility that the McMillans could have received a lesser sentence than the one that was imposed in court on Monday. gina@wilsontimes.com | 265-7821 |
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To Judge Not said...
We may have sinned, but we didn't murder an innocent child. WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM????
Thursday, July 09, 2009 at 7:58 PM
Judge Not said...We may have sinned, but we didn't murder an innocent child. WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM????
Thursday, July 09, 2009 at 7:58 PM
Let those who have not sinned cast the first stone.
Thursday, July 09, 2009 at 4:07 PM
It is scary the number of people that will make judgements only knowing what they read in the paper. This artilce does not even have Tyler's age correct. Wishing the same or worse on the parents is just the same as doing them in God's eyes. Let God do the judging. There is so much more to this story.
Thursday, July 09, 2009 at 4:05 PM
Sallenger said his client was a "fine Christian lady." If she's an example of a fine Christian lady, then these churches need to be abolished IMMEDIATELY. What she is is a TERRORIST!
Sunday, July 05, 2009 at 12:30 PM
u couldnt have said it any better!!!! i beleive u need to get what u hand out. an these 2 beast,, should b tied to the very same tree,,, for 2 days in the heat,,, if they die,, they will go to hell,,if they survive,,, they will still go to hell. they were judged her on earth,, but that is nothing compared to the REAL JUDGE
Friday, July 03, 2009 at 6:37 PM
