Tina Resch / Christina Boyer Legal Case

This web page on the Tina Resch / Christina Boyer legal case has had visitors from 128 countries. Note: If you need information on how to contact Tina Boyer in prison or her Georgia attorney, please email me.

The Christina Boyer Legal Case
How an innocent young woman was sentenced, after passing a polygraph test, to life plus 20 years in an American prison without a trial.
by James A. Conrad, February 23, 2008

CARROLLTON, GEORGIA, USA — On Monday, October 25, 1994, Tina Resch, no longer the 14-year-old "telekinetic girl" who was the subject of parapsychology research in the mid 1980s, but now age 25, then known and now, by her married divorced name of Christina Boyer, or Tina Boyer, was sentenced to life in prison plus 20 years for the murder—State of Georgia District Attorney Peter J. Skandalakis and Assistant District Attorney Anne Allen alleged—of her three-year-old daughter Amber, who had died over two and a half years earlier on April 14, 1992 in Carrollton, Georgia. Christina Boyer is currently serving that sentence in Pulaski State Prison in Hawkinsville, Georgia in the southeastern United States.

The 2004 book Unleashed — Of Poltergeists and Murder: The Curious Story of Tina Resch by psychologist William Roll, Ph.D., and Valerie Storey makes a compelling argument that Christina Boyer is innocent of the charge of murdering her only child.

I have reviewed evidence in her legal case beyond that which is referred to in Unleashed, including transcripts of court testimony, transcripts of court proceedings, transcripts of audiotapes, police reports, the hospital's emergency room reports, the autopsy report, post-mortem and autopsy photos, photos taken at the time of the locations involved, and various other pieces of evidence and I agree with that conclusion. Christina Boyer is innocent of both criminal charges for which she was convicted. Many things about this legal case are troubling:

Tina Resch Boyer (on right), 22, with her daughter Amber, 3, in Georgia, November 28, 1991, visiting friends Dr. Bill Roll and his wife Lydia for what would be their last Thanksgiving holiday dinner together. Four and a half months later, Amber would die from a fatal head injury while in the custody for nearly six hours of Tina's new boyfriend of less than two months, David Herrin. Photo: William Roll.

Ms. Boyer was not found guilty by a jury and the trial process. After waiting over two and a half years in the Carroll County jail for a trial, her court-appointed lawyer, Jimmy Berry, whom she rarely saw, suddenly visited her and advised her that the safest course of action would be to accept a plea agreement he had worked out with District Attorney Skandalakis and Assistant D.A. Allen. With the trial to begin in just seven days, and facing death by electrocution, Ms. Boyer decided that to save her life, she had to accept the plea agreement: an Alford plea, a type in which the defendant does not admit guilt and asserts innocence, but agrees to accept a lesser punishment (life plus 20 years in prison with the possibility of parole in this instance) rather than risk receiving a greater one (certain death). In a handwritten letter to her friends written in jail, she wrote:
I know that my decision to go ahead Monday with the offered plea may seem like I'm giving up. Please try to understand that I'm scared.
Ms. Boyer passed a polygraph test administered by a court-certified examiner less than 24 hours before her sentencing that indicated her innocence. The court paid for the test and the positive results were entered into the court record at her sentencing.
Mr. Berry, the attorney, never interviewed psychologist Jeannie Lagle, the main alibi witness in the case, whom Ms. Boyer was with working on a book project for nealy six hours when her daughter died while in the custody of her new boyfriend of less than two months, David Herrin, who was babysitting that day.
During his time on the case, Mr. Berry filed a "letter of conflict" with the court indicating that he was working on 88 other cases in Georgia, including another high profile murder case, at the same time that he was representing Ms. Boyer. He had never had a death penalty conviction in any of his previous cases and a plea agreement ensured quickly that there would be no trial.
The District Attorney, Peter J. Skandalakis, and the Sheriff, Jack Bell, who arrested Tina in 1992 despite having access to contrary evidence from the medical examiner, were running political campaigns that year to retain their elected offices. They won their elections that November.
The boyfriend, David Paul Herrin, would not take a polygraph test. He was the only one with three-year-old Amber during the last six hours of her life. In the hospital emergency room, he was heard by Ms. Boyer and Jeannie Lagle making the comment, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." A jury never heard that evidence.
The jury in David Herrin's case found him innocent of murder on February 3, 1995 at the conclusion of his week-long trial essentially because Ms. Boyer had already accepted a plea bargain three months earlier on October 24, 1994. In fact, Mr. Herrin's attorney made a point of passing around a certified copy of Ms. Boyer's signed plea/sentencing document so that every member of the jury could hold it in their hands and look at it. The fact that District Attorney Peter J. Skandalakis changed his mind shortly before Mr. Herrin's trial and removed the death penalty possibility from his case probably also influenced the jury's decision in Mr. Herrin's favor. The jury instead found Mr. Herrin guilty of the lesser charge of failing to seek medical treatment and he was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He is ellgible for early release on April 14, 2011 and must be released by April 14, 2012.
One of Ms. Boyer's two convictions, for which she was sentenced to 20 years, was for "causing bodily harm to Amber Bennett by seriously disfiguring a member of her body to wit: her pancreas." However, according to the testimony of the medical examiner, who was the State of Georgia's chief medical witness, the injury, caused according to Tina by a fall on a "big wheel" tricyle's handlebar while playing, was so minor that there would have been no external symptoms. The medical examiner thus refuted the State's claim. It was a trumped up charge in the indictment by the District Attorney not supported by the evidence.

State of Georgia Code 16-10-8:
"An officer or employee of the state or any political subdivision thereof or other person authorized by law to make or give a certificate or other writing who knowingly makes and delivers such a certificate or writing containing any statement which he knows to be false shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than five years."
Ms. Boyer's murder conviction was not for inflicting any physical injury to her daughter, but for failing to seek medical attention for the injury that caused her death. However, the medical examiner testified at the trial of David Herrin that Amber died of head trauma received within 0-30 minutes of her death. During the time frame when the fatal injury occurred, Ms. Boyer was at the home of psychologist Jeannie Lagle and had been for nearly six hours working on the manuscript for a book about her earlier life experiences as a teenager being researched by science. When she returned to the trailer home of Mr. Herrin, who did not own a phone, she found Mr. Herrin standing on the front porch and her daughter inside in bed already deceased. She then rushed the child to the emergency room, but by then it was too late. Despite having access to this information before the trial of Mr. Herrin, the District Attorney charged Ms. Boyer with murder, the Sheriff arrested her, and the judge allowed the conviction to proceed and stand. The prosecutors blocked a parole attempt for Ms. Boyer in 1999.

State of Georgia Code 16-1-5:
"Every person is presumed innocent until proved guilty. No person shall be convicted of a crime unless each element of such crime is proved beyond a reasonable doubt."
Lastly, the online Contact Registry on the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles website is presenting an inaccurate record of the amount and names of the public who have contacted them regarding Ms. Boyer's case. My name is not included, for example, despite writing the Board a September 24, 2007 four-page letter on my author's letterhead providing the key evidence as detailed on this web page and requesting a pardon consideration for Ms. Boyer as part of her mandatory parole review. I never received a reply to my letter and a follow-up email to the webmaster of the site inquiring why my contact was not included was never answered. There are other names also missing of which I learned during my research and it is not known how many others there are beyond that. Consequently, I must advise any news media looking into this case viewing the Board Contact Registry that it is not a reliable indicator of the extent of the public's concern and support for Ms. Boyer's release.

How Long Has Christina Boyer Been Imprisoned?

Christina Boyer has been in jail / prison in this case since the age of 22. She was officially arrested on April 16, 1992 (the date the arrest warrant was issued), but had been in custody since April 14, 1992. She was sentenced on October 25, 1994 at age 25. She turned 38 on October 23, 2007. This count-up clock from April 14, 1992 requires your computer being set to the correct date and time.

Here are some of the names of people involved in this case.

Tina/Christina Boyer...Age 22 on April 14, 1992. Maiden name: Tina Resch. OFFICIAL CURRENT PRISON INFO
Amber Gail Bennett....Ms. Boyer's only daughter, age 3. Bennett is the last name of one of Ms. Boyer's divorced husbands, but has no biological relation to Amber.
David Herrin....Ms. Boyer's new boyfriend of less than two months in early 1992 and babysitter of Amber when she died; age 29 on April 14, 1992. Scheduled release from prison: April 14, 2012. OFFICIAL CURRENT PRISON INFO
Jimmy D. Berry....Tina's court-appointed Georgia attorney. Also known as Jimmy Berry and Jim Berry. PHOTO and NEWS ARTICLE, COURT TV MINI BIO
Superior Court Judge William F. Lee, Jr.....The judge who sentenced Tina and earlier heard court motions in both cases and set trial dates. He is still a judge, but is no longer deciding criminal cases.
Superior Court Judge Dewey Smith....The judge who presided over the trial of David Herrin. He retired on Dec. 31, 1996 and died on September 29 2001 of Parkinson's disease. OBITUARY.
(D.A.) Peter J. Skandalakis....The Georgia District Attorney for the Coweta Judicial Circuit District who prosecuted Christina Boyer's and David Herrin's cases. According to a Times-Georgian newspaper article, he was age 36 in July 1992. He was first elected to office in 1992 after serving less than a year as interim D.A. when the then current District Attorney retired. He ran unopposed in 2004 and is running again unopposed in 2008. In the 2004 election, he switched his political party affiliation from Democrat to Republican. Also known as Peter Skandalakis or Pete Skandalakis. PHOTO and CONTACT INFO.
Anne Allen....Assistant District Attorney in the Carroll County D.A. Office (one of the D.A. Offices in the five counties covered by the Coweta Judicial Circuit District). She helped prosecute Christina Boyer's and David Herrin's cases. Quoted in newspaper articles further down this page. Also known as Anne C. Allen. She is still the Assistant District Attorney there today. The crime occurred in Carroll County, so her office in the District was heavily involved in the investigation, indictments, and prosecution.
Jack Bell....Sheriff of Carroll County, Georgia; age 61 in April 1992. Re-elected to office in 1992. Was the Chief of Police of the City of Carrollton before becoming Sheriff. Retired as Sheriff in 1996 and was elected to the Carroll County Commission, where he served as Chairman until he retired from that position in 2001. He died on May 21, 2004 at age 73 in a bizarre accident when he climbed down from a large County mowing tractor he was operating and it suddenly kicked into gear and ran over him. PHOTO and OBITUARY.
(M.E.) Steven F. Dunton....Medical examiner who performed Amber's autopsy and was the State's chief medical witness. At the time, he was also a board-certified pediatrician with children of his own and a newborn on the way. He also had experience as an emergency room physician.
Kenneth W. Krontz....Mr. Herrin's court-appointed attorney.
Jeannie Lagle....The psychologist whose home Ms. Boyer was at working on a book manuscript when Amber died at Herrin's trailer, about a 20 minute drive away. Ms. Lagle was one of the researchers in Chapel Hill, South Carolina who assisted Dr. William Roll in the investigation of Tina's telekinetic past when Tina was a teenager and visited there to be studied. Mentioned in the book Unleashed. She has a masters degree in psychology. In the court transcripts below, the court reporter misspells her name as "Jennie."
Det. Captain Mike Bradley....City of Carrollton police detective who questioned Christina Boyer and David Herrin on the night of April 14, 1992.
Det. Lieutenant Mike Thomas....City of Carrollton police detective who questioned Christina Boyer and David Herrin at the hospital and police station.
Dep. Wren Culver....Carroll County female Sheriff's deputy who questioned Christina Boyer and David Herrin on the night of April 14, 1992, along with other law enforcement officers. Mr. Herrin's rented mobile home (also called a trailer) was located outside the city limits of Carrollton in Carroll County, so there was overlapping jurisdiction of the case. She was also the arresting officer in the case. She swore out the affidavit that was presented to a Judge Magistrate on April 16, 1992, who then issued the arrest warrant for Tina, who was already being held in the County jail. Wren Culver reportedly left the Sheriff's Department in 1997.
Kathy Carswell....David Herrin's ex-wife; testified at his trial as a character witness. Mother of Ashley, Herrin's own three-year-old daughter who sometimes played with Amber when Herrin had weekend custody. Herrin's daughter was not visiting on the day Amber died.
W.A. Robinson....Court-certified polygraph examiner. The Court paid for Tina's polygraph examination.
William Roll....Author, Oxford University-educated former Professor of Psychology and Psychical Research at the State University of West Georgia (West Georgia University) in Carrollton, Georgia. He has a Ph.D. degree in psychology and researched Tina's case in 1984 and therafter. He co-wrote the 2004 book Unleashed — Of Poltergeists and Murder: The Curious Story of Tina Resch. He has authored several additional books and more than 200 science articles.
Jurors in Herrin trial....The names of the jurors are not known.

Quotes from Court Documents
The murder, aggravated assault, and child cruelty trial of David Paul Herrin began on Monday, January 30, 1995 in Carrollton, Georgia, United States, and ended the same week on Friday, February 3, 1995. Christina Boyer was brought to court and testified on the first day. Of special interest below is the testimony of the State's chief witness, the medical examiner (highlighted in blue) Steven Dunton. Three-year-old Amber Gail Bennett spent the last six hours of her life alone with 29-year-old David Herrin and the medical examiner's testimony establishes that the fatal head injury occurred within 30 minutes of her becoming deceased. Christina Boyer left Herrin's rented trailer home with Amber alive at approximately 12:40-12:45 pm to go work on the manuscript for a book (about her earlier life experiences as a teenager being researched by science) at the home of psychologist Jeannie Lagle. She arrived back at the trailer around 6:30 pm—nearly six hours later—and found her daughter dead in Mr. Herrin's bed. Ms. Boyer was not present when the fatal injury occurred, was not notified of her daughter's critical condition by Mr. Herrin until after her daughter had died, and yet was arrested, convicted, and sentenced to life in prison for not getting her daughter medical treatment for the fatal injury that resulted in her death.

Testimony — Trial of David Herrin
David Herrin's attorney, Kenneth Krontz, has him admit early in his testimony that he was engaged in criminal activity for his employers before he was fired on April 10th, four days before Amber died. He drove heavy delivery trucks for three companies throughout the southeast without the necessary commercial driver's license. (2 quotes):
Herrin: I was driving illegally for Mr. Tidwell for approximately -- since the first of the year, first of '92.
— David Herrin testimony at his trial, page 635, lines 19-21.

Herrin: I was driving illegally for him.
D.A. Peter J. Skandalakis: When you say Tidwell, do you mean Tidmore?
Herrin: Tidmore. I call him Mr. Tidwell. It just shows you how good I knew him. I was driving for three different companies and it just seems like it was strange that he's the only one that complained about me.
— Herrin testimony, page 672, lines 12-18.

Mr. Herrin gets caught in a discrepancy about being fired from his job. Amber died on Tuesday, the 14th. (1 quote):
Herrin: See, I was laid off before then and you know that. I was laid off, fired, terminated, however you want to define it.
D.A. Peter J. Skandalakis: You were fired on Friday, the 10th.
Herrin: Terminated.
D.A.: But you told the police you were laid off.
Herrin: Well, that was a mistake. I meant terminated...
— Herrin testimony, page 671, lines 14-20.

Mr. Herrin and his attorney attempt to influence the jury in their favor by portraying 29-year-old Mr. Herrin as a regular guy, a good ol' boy. Here he is questioned by his attorney and responds as if following a script. In the first quote, he is discussing going job-hunting on the morning of Amber's death and refers to attending the special occasion of Easter church services that upcoming Sunday. He unfortunately chose to pay for cable TV service for his trailer instead of a telephone. (3 quotes):
Krontz: Did you get a job?
Herrin: Well, it was fill applications out and they'd get back to me. I don't have a phone so I give them my mom's phone number and address and if they got ahold of her, I'd see her on Sunday at church and we'd straighten it out then.
Krontz: Okay. You didn't have a phone in your trailer?
Herrin: No, sir. I couldn't afford one at the time because I'd gone through bankruptcy.
Krontz: What time did you go back to the trailer? What time did you get back?
Herrin: Probably, it was between 10:30 and 11:30. I didn't look at my watch. I just knowed it wasn't after twelve, I know.
— Herrin tesimony, page 655, line 25; continued page 656, lines 1-12.

Herrin: I went into the living room, changed channels, want to say a pre-recorded race was on t.v. I've been into NASCAR for --
Krontz: Did you drink a beer and fall asleep in the chair?
Herrin: I believe I did. I don't think I even finished the beer as a matter of fact.
— Herrin testimony, page 663, 10-16.

Krontz: How long were you in the military?
Herrin: A little over two years.
Krontz: In the Army?
Herrin: Yes, sir.
— Herrin testimony, page 672, lines 12-18.

Mr. Herrin saw no bruises on Amber on April 9th, the day before he was fired. A maintenance man at Ms. Boyer's apartment also testified that he saw no bruises on her the ninth. She died on the 14th. (1 quote):
Herrin: On the 9th I don't recall her having a bruise on her.
Herrin testimony, page 702, lines 9-10.

Medical examiner Steven Dunton testifies that no "serious disfigurement" of Amber's pancreas occurred, as falsely claimed in the indictment. There were two tiny superficial scratches on the pancreas measuring "several millimeters" in length. The edge of a U.S. five-cent coin (nickel) is two millimeters. The medical examiner would have had to put the pancreas under a magnifying glass in order to get a more precise measurement. The injury was so minor, in fact, there would have been no symptoms for Ms. Boyer to be aware of and it would not show up on an X-ray. No medical treatment would have been necessary or even possible, as it would have required far more dangerous major invasive surgery to even discover it. Ms. Boyer testified that the injury occurred when Amber fell on her plastic "big wheel" tricycle while playing. (4 quotes):
Attorney Kenneth Krontz (attorney for David Herrin): ...in reality, we're talking about a couple of very, very small injuries to the pancreas in this child. Isn't that correct?
Medical examiner Steven Dunton: That's right.
— Medical examiner Steven Dunton testimony, page 457, lines 4-7.

Krontz: Is it true that these injuries to the child, the lacerations, probably would have healed themselves without medical intervention?
M.E.: I think that's probably true.
Krontz: And is it true that these lacerations that you discovered in your autopsy could not have interfered with the function of the pancreas?
M.E.: I don't think they would, no.
— Medical examiner Steven Dunton testimony, page 457, lines 12-19.

M.E.: ...the pancreas injuries in and of themselves probably were not life threatening.
Krontz: So we don't have a loss of the pancreas?
M.E.: No, I think, as I said, if she had survived, I think the pancreas would have restored its normal function.
Krontz: And we don't have a loss of use of the pancreas?
M.E.: No.
Krontz: One other concept I need to talk to you about and that is, these are very small injuries, several millimeters, which is pretty dang small, right?
M.E.: Yes.
Krontz: Would you say that these injuries impaired the appearance of that child?
M.E.: The pancreatic injuries in and of themselves?
Krontz: Yes, sir.
M.E.: There would be no external sign that the pancreas is injured.
— Medical examiner Steven Dunton testimony, page 468, lines 22-25; continued page 469, lines 1-13.

Krontz: You wouldn't say that the pancreas was seriously disfigured.
M.E.: I wouldn't use that terminology.
Krontz: Thank you. That's all I have.
— Medical examiner Steven Dunton testimony, page 469, lines 16-19.

Ms. Boyer testifies that she saw Amber fall on her plastic big wheel tricycle on Saturday April 11th. (1 quote):
D.A. Peter J. Skandalakis: Do you recall giving the police a statement and I'm talking about on that Saturday, of how the child received injuries, other than the fall from the steps, step?
Tina: Other than the -- no, except playing in her toy box and a big wheel in the house.
D.A.: That's what I'm talking about.
Tina: Yes.
D.A.: What about the big wheel?
Tina: She was playing on her big wheel and it toppled over.
D.A.: And how do you know that?
Tina: Because I was sitting there watching her.
D.A.: You saw that?
Tina: Yes I did.
D.A.: That's all.
Krontz: Nothing further. Thank you.
The Court: You may go down. (Witness withdraws from courtroom.)
— Tina Boyer testimony at Herrin trial, Jan 30, 1995, page 346, lines 3-10.

Medical examiner Steven Dunton comments on the fatal head injury. Dr. Dunton was also a pediatrician and an emergency room physician familiar with child injuries. Amber was alone with Mr. Herrin for about the last six hours of her life. Tina left Mr. Herrin's rented trailer home to go to psychologist Jeannie Lagle's home to work together on her autobiography approximately 12:40-12:45 pm and arrived back at the trailer around 6:30 pm. Amber was alive when Tina left, deceased when she returned. (5 quotes):

State of Georgia Code 16-3-40:
"The defense of alibi involves the impossibility of the accused's presence at the scene of the offense at the time of its commission. The range of the evidence in respect to time and place must be such as reasonably to exclude the possibility of presence."

District Attorney Peter J. Skandalakis: ...Doctor, in your opinion, what was the cause of death of this child?
Medical examiner Steven Dunton: Primarily it was the blunt force trauma she received to her head.
— Medical examiner Dunton testimony, page 432, lines 4-7.

M.E.: ...it's hard to conceive that there would be any significant period of time following such an injury that the child seems perfectly fine and then later the symptoms kick in. That's just not the way it happens.
— Medical examiner Steven Dunton testimony, page 461, lines 20-23.

M.E.: As I said before, the symptoms should begin immediately, but they may be very slight and they may deteriorate slowly and then rapidly at the very end, or they may deteriorate very rapidly from the onset, but the symptoms are not going to commence hours after the injury.
— Medical examiner Steven Dunton testimony, page 462, lines 23-25; continued page 463, lines 1-3.

M.E.: ...I sincerely doubt that the lethal injury was inflicted three or four days prior to her death.
— Medical examiner Steven Dunton testimony, page 439, lines 15-16.

M.E.: If a child has received this kind of force to the brain, that's going to result in a subdural hematoma and eventual swelling of the brain. At the very beginning, right after the injury, there may be a short period of time and I mean very short, some minutes, I doubt as long as 15 or 30, where the child might seem perfectly fine. On the other hand, and probably the more frequent occurrence is that after such force is applied to the brain of a child immediately there's something wrong. If they're not completely unconscious then they may be groggy, unsteady on their feet, sleepy. Other symptoms might include nausea and vomiting, difficulty walking and as time goes by, if they survive for an interval of time, they may be unconscious completely at that point, completely comatose or even deceased. As I said, there is some variability in how fast this happens, but nonetheless, from the point of injury to the point of death, the symptoms are progressive, that is, they're not: everything's great for a while and everything's perfectly normal and then all of a sudden the symptoms kick in.
— Medical examiner Steven Dunton testimony, page 447, lines 20-25; continued page 448, lines 1-17.

Mr. Herrin testifies about Amber's activities on April 14th during the approximately six hours she was alone with him while Ms. Boyer was at psychologist Jeannie Lagle's house. Where Herrin says "my little girl" he is referring to his own three-year-old daughter with his ex-wife, neither of whom visited that day. (1 quote):
Tape-recorded statement given by Mr. Herrin to police on the night of April 14, 1992:
Herrin: ...She got up, ate a bowl of cereal, done good, watched cartoons and acted like, you know, normal. ... I couldn't get her back down for a nap. We got up and I went ahead and fed her lunch, she, Amber had a salad.
Det. Thomas: You say "We got up." Did you lay down with her?
Herrin: Oh, no sir, no sir, I mean, it's just a figure of speech, but she, I mean, she got up, I let her watch t.v. She ate a peanut butter sandwich, drunk milk and played with my little girl's toy box, got a bunch of toys, and I then took her outside to play. Outside, she's got a little three-wheeler she rides on and I was laying outside in the lounge chair and I was there for, seemed like an hour or so 'cause it was getting pretty hot, and then I took her back inside and then give her something to drink. She snacked, watched some cartoons, and around, let me think, I want to say either three-thirty or four o'clock, I noticed she was getting where she was staggering around, you know, eyes were, getting sleepy was what I figured...
INTERVIEW 4-14-92 AT 2300 HRS.
— Audiotape-recorded interview of David Herrin conducted by the Carrollton Police Department on the night of April 14, 1992.

A discrepancy by Mr. Herrin and his ex-wife Kathy Carswell about Amber's meals on the day she died. (1 quote):
D.A. Peter J. Skandalakis: Shortly after your arrest you talked to your wife, is that right, your ex-wife?
Herrin: Yes, I talked to her quite frequently.
D.A.: You told your wife you tried to get Amber to eat something and Amber refused. You heard her testify here today, correct?
Herrin: Yes.
D.A.: But you told the police Amber had cereal in the morning, a salad at lunch, a peanut butter sandwich, a drink, and all that occurred from the time you first told the police and all this was about a week or two later. Do you have any explanation for the difference in the child not eating at all to all of a sudden she had all those things to eat?
Herrin: Like I said, I tried to get her to eat something.
D.A.: You tried.
Herrin: Like I said, I tried several different things.
— Herrin testimony, page 687, lines 9-24.

Mr Herrin gets caught in a discrepancy about finding Amber unconscious. (1 quote):
D.A. Peter J. Skandalakis: You told the police that you checked on her every so often and you kept going back in and checking on her after she went to sleep. Is that right?
Herrin: Yes, sir.
D.A.: She was moving her feet and you were checking on her back and forth. Is that right?
Herrin: Rolling over and --
D.A.: Rolling over and -- but you told your wife you took a nap. You told your wife from 4:30 until about 6:00 you didn't check on her once and that's just a week after the child died. Which one is it?
Herrin: Well, I know I checked on her.
— Herrin testimony, page 691, lines 19-25; continued page 692, lines 1-5.

Mr. Herrin's actions after finding Amber lifeless in his daughter's bed where he claimed he put her for a nap. The "Jenny" in the transcript is the court reporter mishearing the D.A. pronounce Jeannie Lagle's first name. (2 quotes):
Herrin: When I first walked in the room, I noticed something was wrong because before when Amber sleeps she's always tossing and turning, kicking the covers off. The covers were up on her. Her right arm was hanging off the bed and she was as pale as a ghost.
Krontz: What did you do?
Herrin: I basically freaked out. I panicked. I run over there, shook her, called her name out I don't know how many times, got mad at Christina for leaving me in this kind of situation.
Krontz: Did you try to get help?
Herrin: Yes, sir I ran ... I run up the street, bare footed, a pair of shorts and a tee shirt. I run up the street, I don't know how far it is, a quarter of a mile, maybe not that far, cut across a yard. ... I run straight up on her and told her, "I'm having a problem with my girlfriend's daughter. She won't wake up. I need to use your phone."
Krontz: And why didn't you call 911?
Herrin: For some reason it didn't even cross my mind.
— Herrin testimony, page 665, lines 8-23, continued page 666, lines 1-3, 5-9.

Krontz: So you called Jenny?
Herrin: She told me that Christina had been gone, she should be there any minute so I said I better get down there before she rides up and freaks out.
— Herrin testimony, page 666, lines 15-18.

Two versions of the same story regarding Ms. Boyer's return to Mr. Herrin's trailer and finding Amber lifeless. Ms. Boyer gave her version on the stand first, with Mr. Herrin sitting listening in the courtroom. After Ms. Boyer testified, she was escorted back to prison and was not in the courtroom during anyone else's testimony. Mr. Herrin's car was a Chevy Impala. Ms. Boyer was about a 15 minute drive away at Ms. Lagle's house. The court reporter mistakenly wrote Jeannie's name as Jenny here and elsewhere in the transcripts. Tina first answered a question from District Attorney Skandalakis about what time she left the trailer that morning. (2 quotes):
Tina's version
D.A. Peter J. Skandalakis: About what time did you leave?
Tina: About twenty till one.
D.A.: And what were you doing at Jenny Lagle's house?
Tina: Working. She was paying me to write.
D.A.: And what kind of book were you writing?
Tina: Supposedly a -- I don't know what you'd call it, I guess an autobiography.
D.A.: What time did you get back home?
Tina: About 6:30.
D.A.: And what, if anything, happened when you got back home?
Tina: When I arrived home, I pulled up in the driveway and David came out on the porch and headed down the stairs and I opened up the door and asked him "what" and he said that he couldn't get Amber up. He said, "I can't get Amber up" and at that point, I jumped out of the car and I went in the house and I went in the room, and Amber was lying there, and I put my head down on her chest to see if she was breathing, and she wasn't breathing, and I yanked the covers back and I picked my daughter up and we went out to the car.
D.A.: What did you do then?
Tina: We were driving -- David drove me to the hospital.
— Tina Boyer testimony at Herrin trial, Jan 30, 1995, page 299, lines 21-25; continued page 300, lines 1-19.

Mr. Herrin's version
Krontz: Did Christina pull up?
Herrin: Yeah, I heard her coming up on the gravel driveway. I hollered out, run out of the room, run out of the trailer, run up to the car. She's sitting there lost in her own little world, eyes closed, radio wide open, singing up a storm. She was in her own world to the extent that she did not even notice me standing right next to the car.
Krontz: What did you do?
Herrin: I snatched the car door open and at that time she looked and smiled like, you know, "What's up" and that's when I told her she needed to get her ass out of the car, I cannot wake up Amber, we need to get her to the hospital.
Krontz: What did she say?
Herrin: Well, she had some kind of expression on her face, but she jumped out of the car. I don't remember exactly what she said, if she said anything until she got in the house, and then she snatched Amber up. I knew she was in no condition to drive, so I drove.
— Herrin testimony, page 667, lines 5-22.

A discrepancy in which Mr. Herrin offers the jury an incident of alleged child abuse by Tina. (2 quotes):
Herrin: ...it wasn't time to eat and one time she slammed the refrigerator door on Amber's hand when she was trying to pull some kind of fruit or something out of the refrigerator.
Krontz: Did she do it by accident?
Herrin: No, sir. It was no accident.
— Herrin testimony, page 641, lines 1-3.

Autopsy Report: "X-rays of the entire skeletal system do not reveal any recent or old fractures or any other significant bony abnormality. ... This is the body of a well-developed, well-nourished white female child measuring 39 inches in crown-heel length and 19 inches in frontal-occipital circumference. The weight of the child is approximately 30 pounds."
— Autopsy Report of Amber Bennett, Medical examiner Steven F. Dunton, April 15, 1992, 8:00 a.m. begin.

Mr. Herrin's last words at his trial. (1 quote):
D.A. Peter J. Skandalakis: You and Christina were the only ones that had that child for that four day period, correct?
Herrin: Correct.
D.A.: Can you give the jury any explanation on how in a four day period this child went from looking like this (shows defendant pictures) to like that and nobody did a thing?
Herrin: No, sir. All I can tell you is that I did not do it.
D.A.: That's all.
The Court: Any further questions, Mr. Krontz?
Krontz: No, your Honor.
The Court: You may go down. (Defendant withdraws from witness stand.) Call your next witness, please, Mr. Krontz.
Krontz: You Honor, the defense rests.
— Herrin testimony, page 710, lines 2-17.

Ms. Boyer's polygraph is mentioned by her attorney Jimmy Berry at her sentencing. (2 quotes):
Berry: I would like to supplement the record with a copy of the polygraph report so that the Board of Pardons and Paroles will have that.
Court: We'll allow you to do that.
Berry: And also a letter, Judge, outlining some of the fact finding information that I found in the case just for the Board of Pardons and Paroles because obviously now it's up to them to determine when she should be released. She is willing to testify about her knowledge and we would ask that that be made a part of the record as well. Anything and everything that we can do to help her as far as her earlier release we certainly would want to put on the record as far as that's concerned.
— Transcript of plea/sentencing proceeding, Oct 24, 1994, page 89, lines 7-19.

Berry: My client has taken a polygraph test; W.A. Robinson who came down and administered the polygraph test under the rules and regulations that are promulgated by their group; in his opinion Ms. Boyer was truthful in her answers pertaining to the fact that she had inflicted any of the injuries at all. In looking through the case, in my opinion, as well, I felt that Ms. Boyer was not the one who inflicted the injuries, that David Herrin was.
— Transcript of Tina's plea bargain/sentencing proceeding, Oct 24, 1994, page 92, lines 1-9.

The Charges Christina Boyer Was Facing [David Herrin was indicted on the same changes.]
IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF CARROLL COUNTY STATE OF GEORGIA THE STATE
Versus
CHRISTINA BOYER INDICTMENT NO. 92-CR-447
Charge: Murder

Before THE HONORABLE WILLIAM F. LEE, JR., in Carrollton, Georgia.

Transcript of the proceedings

APPEARANCES OF COUNSEL:

On behalf of the State: PETER J. SKANDALAKIS, District Attorney
On behalf of the Defendant: JIMMY D. BERRY, ESQ.

Edward Noriega
OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER
COWETA COUNTY COURTHOUSE
NEWNAN, GEORGIA

Hearing held on December 20, 1993 in Carrollton, Georgia:

THE COURT: We're here in case number 92-CR-447, the case of the State of Georgia versus Christina Boyer. She is present in Court along with her attorney, Mr. Berry. Present also is Mr. Peter Skandalakis, the District Attorney of the circuit. The purpose of this hearing is for the arraignment of the defendant, Christina Boyer. Ms. Boyer, your name is Christina Boyer?
MS. BOYER: Yes, sir.
THE COURT: You are represented by Mr. Jimmy Berry, a lawyer who practices in Marietta?
MS. BOYER: Yes, sir.
THE COURT: Ms. Boyer, the grand jury of this County has returned a true bill indictment against you in which it charges you with a number of offenses.

On count one of the indictment you are charged with the offense of murder, and that charge reads: the grand jury of this County charges that you, Christina Boyer, did on the date of on or April 10th, 1992 and April 14th, 1992 in Carroll County, Georgia, did then and there unlawfully and with malice aforethought cause the death of Amber Bennett, a human being, by striking Amber Bennett on the head and abdomen, contrary to the laws of this State, the good order, peace and dignity thereof.

In count two of this indictment the grand jury charges you with the offense of murder and it says: said Christina Boyer in the County of Carroll, State of Georgia, on the day of on and between April 10th, 1992 and April 14th, 1992, did then and there unlawfully cause the death of Amber Bennett a human being while in the commission of a felony to wit: cruelty to children by maliciously causing Amber Bennett, a child under the age of eighteen cruel and excessive physical pain by repeatedly striking Amber Bennett, contrary to law of this State, the good order, peace and dignity thereof.

Count number three charges you with the offense of murder. It charges that Christina Boyer in Carroll County, Georgia, on the date of on and between April 10th, 1992 and April 14th, 1992 did then and there unlawfully cause the death of Amber Bennett, a human being while in the commission of a felony to wit: cruelty to children by maliciously causing Amber Bennett a child under the age of eighteen cruel and excessive physical pain by failing to seek proper medical attention for Amber Bennett, contrary to laws of this State, the good order, peace and dignity thereof.

[Comment: This is the charge that Ms. Boyer pled guilty to in her plea bargain and received a sentence of life in prison.]

Count four charges you, Christina Boyer, with the offense of aggravated assault. In that count you are charged: in Carroll County, Georgia on the date of on and between April 10th, 1992 and April 14th, 1992 you did then and there unlawfully and maliciously cause bodily harm to Amber Bennett by seriously disfiguring a member of her body to wit: her pancreas, contrary to laws of this State, the good order, peace and dignity thereof.

[Comment: Ms. Boyer also pled guilty to this false charge and received 20 years consecutive to her life sentence.]

Count five charges you with the offense of cruelty to children. In count five you are charged that in Carroll County, Georgia, on the date of on and between April 10th, 1992 and April 14th, 1992 you did then and there unlawfully, maliciously cause Amber Bennett, a child under the age of eighteen cruel and excessive physical pain by failing to seek medical treatment for Amber Bennett, contrary to laws of this State, the good order, peace and dignity thereof.

[Comment: David Herrin was found guilty only on this charge and was sentenced to 20 years. The District Attorney removed the death penalty possibility for his case prior to trial; not so with Ms. Boyer, who made her decision to plea based on the possibility of being put to death by the State by electrocution.]

I have not read this verbatim, that is I have not read it word for word, I've paraphrased it somewhat. Do you have any objections to that, Mr. Berry?
MR. BERRY: No, You Honor.
THE COURT: You have been charged with all of these offenses by the grand jury of this County. How do you wish to plead to these charges, guilty or not guilty?
MR. BERRY: Not guilty, Your Honor.
THE COURT: All right. Do you have a copy of the indictment, Mr. Berry?
MR. BERRY: Yes, we do, Your Honor.
THE COURT: And you have gone over these charges with your client?
MR.BERRY: Yes, Your Honor, I'm in the process of making copies of all of the documents I have in the file for my client at this time.
THE COURT: She does understand what she is charged with on each count of this indictment?
MR. BERRY: Yes, Your Honor.
THE COURT: All right, sir, fine. Is there anything else we can do at this time?
MR. SKANDALAKIS: Your Honor, yes sir, the State has to notify and reaffirm its intention to seek the death penalty. I've already served notice and that is in the file and Mr. Berry and Mrs. Boyer are aware of that.
THE COURT: All right. So the State will be seeking the death penalty in this case.
MR. SKANDALAKIS: Yes, sir.
THE COURT: All right. I have spoken with Mr. Berry and Mr. Skandalakis and we will be setting a date later for hearings on the motions that have been filed and any other motions that you think you made need to file. You're certainly not precluded from filing any other motions. We will be setting a date and the proper people will be notified as to when that hearing will be held.
MR. BERRY: Thank you, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Is there anything else we need to take up?
MR. SKANDALAKIS: No, sir, Your Honor.
MR. BERRY: No, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Thank you all so much. This Court is adjourned for the day.

* * * * *

News Media Article Quotes
1993: Excerpt below from: Creative Loafing weekly magazine, Atlanta, Georgia, June 13, 1993, "Tina's World: Poltergeists and Prison" by Gregg Land. (The magazine also did an earlier July 14, 1990 story focusing on her parapsychology case.)

     For many of those who knew Tina— ... Lagle, Roll, [both have degrees in psychology, a masters and Ph.D., respectively] and others—the idea that she could ever allow her daughter to be harmed is inconceivable.
     "My wife and I often had Amber over, partly because we liked the child and partly to give Tina some relief from having to care for her all the time," says Roll. "I never saw her lose her temper around Amber and harm her in any way. She would occasionally discipline the girl by giving her a smack on the bottom, but there was never any indication of that kind of abuse Tina has been accused of by the police."
     "Yeah, I've maybe seen her spank her, but that's all," agrees Lagle. "She wouldn't let anybody harm that child. And she was so hyper, always running into things and falling down—so it sounded very possible to me that all these accidents did happen. ... And Tina drilled into her, "If anybody ever hurts you, you tell me." ...
     In the meantime, Tina grows ever more restive as the days creep by and no apparent progress is made in her case. She takes daily medication for nervousness and depression, the psychokinetic outbreaks have not returned, and abuse from her fellow inmates has abated somewhat; still, she wonders how she can be held for alleged abuse that happened when she wasn't present.
     "I'm about ready to give up," she says, her head bowed as she speaks through the small grate below the glass. "I feel like this town's convicted me of something I haven't done—I don't think my lawyer believes me, all he's concerned with is seeing that my civil rights aren't violated, but he doesn't care. ... I just pray the truth'll come out."

2008: Excerpt below from: Carroll Star News weekly newspaper, Carrollton, Georgia, January 20, 2008, "The real story of Christina Resch Boyer: Did a 'perfect storm' of events lead to life imprisonment?" by Susan Horn, editor/publisher.
(This was a lengthy article that began on the front page; briefly excerpted here. If you would like to read the entire article, provide me your email address and I will send you five jpg scans of the article and accompanying editorial totaling 2.585 MB [2585 KB].)

On October 24, 1994, twenty-five year old Christina "Tina" Resch Boyer entered an Alford Plea in a Carroll County court to the felony murder and aggravated battery of her three year old daughter Amber Bennett. Because of her plea, there was no costly trial. She was subsequently sentenced to life in prison plus 20 years. As of now, she has served 15 and 1/2 years and is currently incarcerated at Pulaski State Prison in Hawkinsville, Georgia.
     This may be the end of this tragic story for prisoner #0000810071, save for the announcement at some future date by prison authorities that Tina Boyer has died. But in a time when seemingly every few months someone is featured in the news as having been exonerated of a crime due to new testing of DNA, recanting of stories by eyewitnesses, or revisiting of the case by authorities, perhaps the time, too, has come for Christina Resch Boyer. ...
     According to the state's official website (www.pap.state.ga.us) the State Board of Pardons and Paroles is a part of the executive branch of Georgia's government, authorized to "grant paroles, pardons, reprieves, remissions, commutations, and to restore civil and political rights." ...
     A "perfect storm" of oppressive events seems to have occurred with Christina Resch Boyer at the epicenter. But when it's all sifted through, this is the story of a young woman who pleaded and accepted punishment for a murder that happened when she wasn't present.

Links
"Free Tina!" A blog created about Tina.
http://tinaboyer.blogspot.com

Fortean Times magazine December 2004 article on the book Unleashed with excerpts:
(may require site registration)
http://www.forteantimes.com/features/articles/139/tina_resch_unleashed.html

Articles in The Atlanta Journal and/or The Atlantic Constitution newspapers, October 25, 1994, the day after her sentencing (the two papers merged in 2001 to become the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
(newspaper archive search page results, with excerpts)
"Telekinetic mom averts trial: Tina Boyer pleads guilty in daughter's death"
"Telekinetic mom gets life in daughter's beating death"
"From Celebrity to Cellblock: Tina Boyer's tragic ride ends"
"Tina Boyer: Magic or tragic?: Ex-celebrity pleads guilty to child's murder"

   Publisher's web page for Unleashed: http://www.paraview.com/roll
   There are 15 photographs and two diagrams in the book.
   Click on the photo to go to Amazon.com's page (new window)
   where there are preview pages.

Map - Where is Carrollton in the State of Georgia, USA, where Tina and Amber lived and Tina was arrested?:
Maps.yahoo.com - Carrollton, Georgia

Map - Where is Hawkinsville, Georgia, where Tina is in prison?:
Maps.yahoo.com - Hawkinsville, Georgia

Georgia Department of Corrections website:
http://www.dcor.state.ga.us

To look up Tina Boyer's current prison photo and record:
http://www.dcor.state.ga.us/GDC/OffenderQuery/jsp/OffQryForm.jsp

Pulaski State Prison Profile:
http://www.prisontalk.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-58860.html

Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles - official website -
http://www.pap.state.ga.us

An earlier version of this article was published on January 20, 2006. All images are Copyrighted © to their respective owners. Please report any nonworking links on this page.

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