UPDATE: David Edenfield, George Edenfield and Peggy Edenfield
JURY: EDENFIELD GETS DEATH SENTENCE
by NEWS4 Jacksonville, FL Staff
BRUNSWICK, Ga. — The Glynn County jury that convicted David Edenfield of murder, molestation and six other charges in the death of 6-year-old Christopher Barrios has decided he should be sentenced to death by lethal injection.
The unanimous decision came at about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. The jury began deliberations about 4:30 p.m. after a testimony in a sentencing hearing and after emotional closing arguments from both sides.
“I’m happy, very happy,” said LaTrina Keith, Christopher’s mother. “I’m satisfied with the outcome of it.”
“That we got him,” Christopher’s father, Michael Barrios, added. “He’s got his deadline now.”
Michael Barrios said he wanted nothing more than to see a reaction out of Edenfield after the judge read his sentence.
“I wanted to see him jump out of his chair, do anything just to get a response from him,” Barrios said.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys were made their final arguments Tuesday afternoon.
“I defended Christopher Barrios when he couldn’t defend himself from that animal right there raping and murdering,” District Attorney Stephen Kelley said during closing
arguments of the sentencing earlier Tuesday, drawing a defense objection and an apology.
“The death of Christopher cries out for justice today and you’re the only ones who can give that justice,” said Kelley, slightly calmer.
“It’s an individual decision that you must live with for the rest of your life,” defense attorney John Beall told the jury. “The state has made the choice as to who they’re going to prosecute for the death penalty in this case, and if you don’t think that’s correct, you’re the correctors of justice.”
It took this jury only two hours Monday afternoon to find 61-year-old Edenfield guilty in the 2007 slaying Monday afternoon. After a brief recess, Superior Court Judge Stephen Scarlett immediately commenced the sentencing hearing.
The victim’s family, including Christopher’s grandmother, cousin and father, testified, telling the jury what they had lost.
“The days following Christopher’s death, I cried so much that my eyes were sore from wiping them,” Michael Barrios said.
Both the prosecution and defense called forensic psychologists, and the two men gave very different perspectives on Edenfield’s mental state.
Testifying for the defense, Dr. James E. Stark said Edenfield showed symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia and had a lower-than-average IQ.
“He is out of the normal range on scales measuring both paranoia and schizophrenia,” Stark testified. “He’s in poor touch with reality. He may have hallucinations and some kinds of delusional thinking.”
But Dr. Phillip Barron, testifying for the prosecution, said the fact that Edenfield successfully held a job speaks to his competence.
“The fact that he was able to interact appropriately in the high-stress condition of police interviews repeatedly and consistently was a strong indication,” Barron said. “During my interview of him, Mr. Edenfield demonstrated no sign of any kind of significant mental illness.”
The jury heard testimony until 9:30 p.m. Monday, then resumed at 9:15 a.m. Tuesday. The jury was later charged with deciding whether Edenfield should be put to death by lethal injection or spend the rest of his life in prison without possibility of parole.
Monday’s verdict was reached on the fifth day of the trial, which had continued through the weekend with two days of testimony and cross-examination of Edenfield’s wife, Peggy, who is also facing murder charges in the March 2007 slaying.
Prosecutors agreed not to seek the death of Peggy Edenfield, 58, in exchange for her agreeing to testify against her husband and son.
George Edenfield, 34, is expected to face trial next and will also face the death penalty if convicted. Neither that trial nor one for Peggy Edenfield has been scheduled.
DAVID EDENFIELD FOUND GUILTY ON ALL COUNTS IN BARRIOS MURDER
by Roger Weeder and Sheila Parker – WSAV-TV, Savannah, GA
Guilty on all counts – after six days of testimony – attorneys for the state and defendant David Edenfield presented their closing arguments Monday morning. It only took a couple of hours for the jury to convict him of the kidnapping, molestation and murder of 6 year old Christopher Barrios.
The little boy was lured from outside his home back in March of 2007. He’d been playing on a nearby swing set after school. One week later his body was found in a garbage bag on a roadside a few miles away. David Edenfield is the first to face trial. His wife and son were also allegedly involved in the crime.
In closing arguments District Attorney Stephen Kelly said, “When it boils right down to it – David Edenfield has convicted himself.“ The district attorney went on to say the trial is about simple people and simple facts – that a jail house confession by David Edenfield showed that he admitted wrongdoing. “Well, I want to tell you, it’s my fault, it’s my fault. I should have been a grown man and stopped it right them, but I didn’t,“ Edenfield was seen admitting on the tape.
Edenfield himself chose not to testify before the jury – his attorney say Peggy Edenfield, David’s wife, also charged with murder – had no credibility, “Whatever Peggy Edenfield said, it’s questionable.“
Peggy Edenfield testified for hours, prosecutors agreed in exchange for her testimony, not to seek the death penalty against her. The end result – defense attorney James Yancy says is confusion, “And I will stand her before you and tell you – I can’t tell you which one is true, I can not tell you which one is false. Cause there’s so much that’s been said – so much that’s been contradicted – so much that’s been directly either proved or disproved. It’s just so much.“
After the verdict was read in the courtroom – Christopher Barrio’s father stopped to talk to reporters. “I’m very happy, very happy. It’s not over with yet though. We got a sentencing to go through now,” said Michael Barrios. Prosecutors are asking for the death penalty.
EDENFIELD FOUND GUILTY, SENTENCING PHASE UNDERWAY
by Dal Cannady – WTOC-TV, Savannah GADavid Edenfield has been found guilty on all eight counts including molesting and killing 6-year-old Christopher Barrios in 2007.
Both sides now move to the sentencing phase of the trial to determine if Edenfield will get life in prison or be put to death.
“Why would anybody want to rape a child? Why would anybody want to murder a child? It tears the very fabric of my soul to shreds just thinking about the answers to those questions,” district attorney Stephen Kelley told the court Monday afternoon.
In their closing arguments, prosecutors told the jury David Edenfield helped his adult son George Edenfield, kill Christopher Barrios and then led the cover up after they molested and killed the 6-year-old.
They claimed he then hid the body after his family dumped it then told police as little as possible until they confronted him with evidence.
But defense attorney James Yancy argued to jurors that Edenfield’s son and wife Peggy are mentally impaired and cannot be trusted witnesses in the details of Christopher’s death.
“So many conflicting things going on and I will stand here before you and tell you I can’t tell you which one is true,” said Yancy in his closing arguments. “And I cannot tell you which one is false.”
Jurors eventually made up their own minds, finding Edenfield guilty of murder.
Monday evening, the prosecution began putting family members of Christopher on the stand for impact testimony as the jury must now decide to sentence Edenfield to death or life in prison.
In his impact statement, Christopher’s father Mike Barrios told the jury that it has been two years of agony for their family since his son’s disappearance and murder back in March of 2007.
Other family members are expected to take the stand and then it will be up to the defense to explain to the jury why Edenfield should not be given the death penalty.
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Confusion and mental inllness – today the greatest way of saying “I did it, but the law does not apply to me….”
I hope they give this POS the death penalty.
My major crime is diet….. and now with a partially clogged artery life is tougher……… and people like me may become “too expensive” to keep around……. Hmmmm I am a tax payer not a leach like this bastrd will be if they decide to keep him alive.
bah… why did you have to go to the healthcare debate. As the bill(s) is(are) written now, no insurance company can deny you coverage for your condition, they simply can charge you an arm and a leg for the coverage(the last was a concession to the Republicans members of the Senate Finance Committee).
Fred, you and I see eye to eye on baby rapers who should be executed, but in this one case, I wish you’d read the legislation before adding that extra flip at the end. I’m not saying it’s a good bill(it’s actually bad for an entirely different set of reasons and no, not the public option piece as much as you may think), but it’s better than paying 3X as much for 53rd in care, and an insurance company that can drop you as soon as you get sick. If they’d simply pass a bill that said:
1. Cannot deny coverage for pre-existing conditions of American Citizens
2. Those without insurance pay 2X Medicare rate for all procedures as total out of pocket.
3. Insurance companies may offer coverage cross states as long as they insure cross-state coverage meets applicability of providers.
4. 13 billion more to the VA, and an expansion of benefits to post service spouse and families.
5. The issuance of 900 additional non-profit 509 and 501.c3 certifications for Hospitals and primary care facilities per year, if they provide discounted and/or free healthcare in their mission statement.
6. All personal healthcare expenses are tax deductible.
7. Reduce patent length on medical procedures, devices and medicines by 2 years.
Sorry for the off topic, but it just slammed into my “liberal” sensibilities.
This case bothered me more than most. It made me realize that some people have the ability to treat children like objects, and care nothing for their souls. It is very scary. I couldn’t sleep at night knowing these people exist in our world, if it weren’t for the peace God gives me to let me know he watches over my children at all times. Thank you Lord, I hope your enjoying the company of little Christopher. may he never hurt again.
I can’t forget this case and little Christopher’s beautiful, innocent smile. It also struck me because he came from a family that offered him so much love and all of it was taken away from him and them in an instant.
I am glad to know that this sick fk was found guilty on all counts, now we can just hope that the sentencing will go as it should… death.
right there with you mwc, being a great believer in karma (have tattoo of the symbol on back of neck) I do believe they will get theirs, hopefully it will be way more painful than what they put that poor christopher through (one can only hope )…
justjaney….
karma prevailed!! i am happy that christopher’s family found a tiny piece of justice after the trauma they have been through.
ahhh karma….love it love it…just LOVE IT!!! makes the world go round :) and I do so hope that the new play mates he’s gonna have also believe in it :)
My own son is Christopher’s age. I’m at work right now, but when I get off late tonight, I’m going to go home, quietly go to his room, and give his little sleeping head a kiss.
This morning, for the first time, he asked me not to walk him to the bus stop, claiming that “big kids like me don’t have their parents walk them”. I said, “well, what if Daddy just plain likes walking with you?”. “Oh”, says he, “then you can go with me”.
So me and my 100-lb Labrador/wolfhound mix get to walk with him to his bus stop, and wait with he and his friends until they get on the bus. And when he comes home, my wife (accompanied by the same big, furry security system) meet him to walk him back.
The perps in this story aren’t the only ones out there. I’ll do everything in my power to keep my son and later, his sister, from meeting any of them.
Well said and a great plan, my friend!!!!
When I got home last night, my wife and I actually talked about this. I brought up this case, which she hadn’t heard of.
Turns out that she was considering letting my boy come home from the bus stop by himself (we can see the bus stop from our front door).
So we talked about this case, and the little girl out in California who was snatched years ago in front of her stepfather and held for over a decade.
We’ll keep walking him to and from. Along with the dog. She talked me out of carrying the .357, though.
We’ll also keep showing the kids, on a regular basis, the excellent “SafeSide” videos for kids put out by John Walsh.
I think I was kind of in the same place after reading this story. And in reality, I should have stopped after I read that the little boy’s name was Christopher. That is my oldest son’s name, and he too is about the age that Christopher Barrios would be now.
So after I read this story, I grabbed him and my six year old son and brought them into bed with me. The scariest thing about these stories is you hear them, and you are overcome with rage and fear of how you are going to protect your own kids. This morning while my kids were having breakfast, we had the “stranger talk” again, right before I walked them to school. All you can do is do your best to keep your children out of harm’s way, but the terrifying part is, what if it isn’t enough?
they all need to die mother father son p.o.s that they r and more
rest in peace little christopher with the angels
Prison, and ultimately death, is far too good for this family of zombies.
Dear David:
Just as he spoke to you and told you to kill Christopher, God has spoken to us also. He told us to kill you. And so we will.
Sentencing phase is over and the decision is now in the hands of the jury. They should have a verdict late tonight or early tomorrow on whether Edenfield receives the Death Penalty or Life Without Parole.
If I were on he jury, I’d want to hand down the death sentence right then & there. I got a pipe wrench and axe in the car ready to to the job!
I’d pull the trigger and not lose a second of sleep over it
I agree! I might even sleep a little bit better for it, knowing that there was one less sick ass pedophile walking this earth. In fact, I would probably shoot his dick off and watch him bleed to death. A sick death for a sick monster.
The pictures of this little boy are heartbreaking and haunting because we know the hell he went through before these freaks killed him. These cases and evil freaks like these make me doubt that there is a god or if there is, he sure as hell isn’t listening to the innocent children out there. I don’t want to hear one over the top religious comment on how we can’t judge these people cause only god can judge-a crime like this there is no forgiveness, no atonement, nothing in universe that could give one reason these freaks don’t deserve to be sentenced to immediate execution and straight to hell
I hate all of them, they are evil sick fucks.
David Edenfield was sentenced to death tonight!
Thank you Nicolenumbertwo – Updating the Update.
very good news from my local station … .
Ga. Man Gets Death For Boy’s Molestation, Murder
BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP)
A Georgia man was ordered to die Tuesday for molesting and strangling a 6-year-old boy in his mobile home. Jurors in coastal Brunswick deliberated for two hours Tuesday before sentencing 61-year-old David Edenfield. He was convicted Monday of child molestation and murder in the March 2007 slaying of Christopher Michael Barrios.
This made me cry. That poor sweet baby boy. God, it makes me so angry. I think lethal injection is being too kind to this piece of shit, but that’s just my opinion.
Death cannot come quickly enough for this monster.
It’s rare that I come across a story on here that makes me physically sick…but this one did… to have all of that happen to this child makes my heart hurt. Nobody deserves that kind of treatment, with the exception of these freaks. ALL 3 OF THEM…death by lethal injection is too good for these “people.”
Those pictures of Christopher are too heartbreaking. He had such beautiful eyes. He reminds me of my friend’s little boy. I am glad that the people who killed him are getting what they deserve. I believe that there are some crimes which when perpetrated revoke the human rights of those who commit them. This was one of those crimes. I know it probably makes me a bad person, but if I were a judge I would feel no remorse in sentencing these people to death.
You truly can’t be too safe and careful. Some of my friends thought I was overprotective when I would see little kids walking to school when I took my kids to school and I would say what in the hell are those parent’s thinking? a freak could grab that 5 year old, be on the interstate and 100 miles away before the school got ahold of a parent to tell him the child didn’t come to school that day. All you have to do is look at the sex offender websites out there and realize these are just the ones who register and the ones who have been caught. You can’t be too careful with your family
The Edenfields are truly SICK!!!! What is wrong with them???????????? They all deserve to rot in Hell.
Fuck. In theory I’m against the death penalty, but goddamned if I don’t get all happy inside when people like this get sentenced to it.
I’m conflicted and I don’t like it. :/
Chinchillazilla- Yeah, I’m conflicted too, but not in this case! Best argument for DP still has to be Bundy, who killed several times after having escaped from Federal custody TWICE, but these sick, vile SOBs are, the three of ‘em, a close second. Duncan out in Idaho, too- he videotaped what he did to those 2 kids- no question whatsoever about guilt. Other than that, I don’t think the State should kill people in order to punish people who kill people- Do I contradict myself, well, then, I contradict myself!
but the best way to keep a killer from killing again.. is to kill them. Didn’t Bill Maher say something along those lines?
I am pro-DP but only for the most egregious of cases and this is certainly one that fits the bills, as well as that freak Joseph Duncan & the killers of Channon Christian & Chris Newsom.
The word will be a better place when these heartless, soul-less, unremorseful, barbaric, sadistic creeps get their lethal injection shots.
None of them deserve to breathe in one more gasp of oxygen.
ha!!! i have no doubt he will encounter some jailmates who believe in a certain brand of karma…
hopefully mwc, it’s the same definition of “karma” that were both thinking :) (or is my thinking way bad??…lol)
I am for the death penalty in cases where it is clear that the perpetrators have been clearly identified and the crime is expecially heinous in nature. What benefit does society get from not executing criminals like these? If ever released he would do it again-his history has shown this. I suppose you could argue that he could be studied in an attempt to find out why he ended up as a pedophile criminal-but we have studied and studied sex offenders and pedophiles and it has not made a dent in the crime rate or crimes of this nature. I suppose you could argue that all life is precious-but all life is not precious-the life of the little boy was innocent and precious but these offenders are worthless.
The punishment should be a fair retribution to the crime. I am not even sure that simple death is a fair retribution in this case.
HAHA he id going to DIE. I love america. WE ROCK
thank you so much max, for updating my story before i even asked. sent you the email today but i see it had already been on your mind. i’m thankful to you for doing that because as you know, this really weighed on me. christopher reminded me of my son, not inly in looks but also in the ay his manner was described, the things he liked, etc. and it was the first story i did here, which i now wish i could’ve done better the way he deserved (i couldn’t keep my emotions out of it). seeing the details of christopher’s killing in the news again really had me down but i’m trying to keep an attitude of “one down, two to go” and think positive that he will get the justice he deserves. i take comfort in the fact that this sweet little boy will enjoy paradise everlasting with no recollection of the evil that was done to him, while all 3 of the demons that victimized him will suffer an eternity of hell with everlasting recollection of why they gt what they deserved.
My pleasure eternal. Of course, as usual it was our readers that tipped me off to both David Edenfield’s guilty verdict and his death sentence. I find about 50% of the updates on my own and the rest are you guys.
I remember how important this story was to you, and how much it affected you. It looks like a lot of other people were just as disgusted with these three animals, and everybody is going to get the justice they deserve. If David got the needle, you can be pretty confident that George, who was even more culpable, will be nipping at his heels.
This story haunted me when I first heard about it and forever after. It invaded my thoughts constantly. I think it was because it is pretty much the worst thing that can happen to a little boy. I have two boys, 5 and 7, and it is a mother’s nightmare what happened to beautiful little Christopher Barrios. A tiny kindergartener. May he rest in peace and may those three monsters burn in hell.
I share your feelings. Could not fall asleep well last night after reading the story. It brought a significant crack to my prior capital punishment views…
I am grateful that this sick fuck got the death penalty. It’s a shame it will be years before they actually execute him. I had put this story out of my mind, and reading it again actually made my stomach lurch. These vile bastards deserve the longest, slowest types of torture… But they will never get what they deserve. That poor baby. I want to go hold my son now.
This case made me physically ill! This family of freaks needs to be tortured to death—not just be allowed to die peacefully! But alas, if we allowed their deaths to be carried out in this manner, it would make us no better than they are. But at the same time, I think the majority wouldn’t care and would love to see these vilee creatures get the punishment that they truly deserve and that they have earned for themselves.
My deepest sympathy goes out to Christopher’s family. May he rest in peace!
I hope this pervert family all rot in the worst layer of Hell along side with John Muhammad, 9/11 Terrorists, and Adolf Hitler.
i am a little late in finding out he was sentenced to death but I am so to know that he is one less scum bag polluting our jails. I just wish people could die the same way they forced their victims to die. Who fought to have the electric chair banned and replaced w/ leathel injection??? they need to be smacked seriously because if you are sentenced to die, you obviously did something horrific. I hope that he also has mental anguish to go w/ the knowledge that he is going to die!!!! Good Ridence piece of shit!!!!
and while this piece of shit waits execution,he should be a bitch to the biggest dudes in prison and forced to suck there cocks every day while he is being fucked by em.u sound like me missy,lol, nice to meet ya.lol
I agree both Missy and Bo. This story still haunts me, often. Right up there with Emma Barker, Brianna Lopez, and Isabella Hopf (among many others of course). I really do believe that lethal injection is too kind. Especially for sick fuckers like this. How can one sit there and violently rape and murder a precious little boy as he begs you to stop and tells you that you are hurting him? I don’t think there is a punishment in this world harsh enough for something like that. Perhaps some liquid Drano down the throat and let him vomit up his own intestines while he is having a broom stick shoved up his ass would be a starter, but still does not suffice. Of course his wife, son, and the guy who helped them dispose of the body would have to join that party.
Yes i love the way you both think! i personally think that we need to reevaluate our punishments because how is sitting in a jail cell for 10 – 15 yrs really doing anything except costing us our tax paying dollars???? We need to start hard labor camps or public hangings like the good ole days!
Yes, definitely Missy! At the very least, get the electric chair back in commission. And you’re right, he is going to be sitting on death row for the next ten to fifteen, basically living “like a king” (in the words of David Berkowitz, I believe it was) in comparison to the other inmates who are there for drug posession and unpaid traffic violations until he finally dies and it will all be on our dollar. Sickening! Just give me five minutes alone with this guy, all I need are some razor blades, rubbing alcohol, and a baseball bat and I’ll get rid of the problem right now.
if i can ask where is every 1 here from? im 46 and from austin tx.
Nebraska -ha ha where future Heisman winner (hopefully!) Suh plays!
oh yea,suh is damn good make no bones about it, but the horns r goin to the bcs.so while we lost 1 fight we can still when the war.and here in austin we DO have the death penalty and we use it. and while killers wait they can still have time to be some ones bitch.lol
how ever my nebraska friend suh does have stiff compatetion in a dude named mark ingram from bama. and thats all im gonna say on sports here as this site is for the little rays of sunshine that were taken from us by shitstains that deserve as much pain as can be put on em.
I do concur on the fact that these freaks deserve as much pain as can be meted out to them, no quick death by lethal injection after years of enjoying taxpayer funded cable and food and shelter.
r we allowed to put r yahoo name on here so if any 1 wants to keep in touch.
Quite frankly, I would not do that. That’s just me.
If anything, I would suggest doing the PYSIH facebook thing, Bo. Lots of us are on there. Only because not all of us are very nice people, or very sane for that matter. Just to be on the safe side.
cool nicole,ill learn how to work that ive never really done a face book.its always been just yahoo but ill learn it.thanks
Sounds like a plan, bo. If you know how to set up a yahoo account, you can set up a facebook account. It’s pretty simple, but if you need any help, feel free to ask. :)
There is another evil and perverted family in Missouri, the Mohlers. They have many victims.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/nation/family-mo-child-sex-abuse-claims-are-repulsive-53327.html?sort=asc&page=2&more_comments=true
shit nicole at 46 yrs old,im always afraid it will iether start up or blow up,lol,just like the bike i had.but ill work on it when im done on here,thanks for the offer,i might use it.
lol ok no problem.
nicole where r u, i need help
ide say when it comes right down to it,put all these child killing punks in the hands of bikers.and it would solve all this shit real fast.
I cannot fully express how i feel towards those loathesome pieces of scum that carried out such a horrific act upon a defenseless baby. Christopher looks so beautiful and happy in those photos, it breaks my heart to know what those twisted fucks did to him.
Burn the bastards alive.
We have seen so many evil families from the Baniszewskis (tortured Sylvia Likens to death in 1965), Mansons, Drews, and now the Edenfields. What is up with this???????? Sick, all I can say.