10 Month Old Sexually Assaulted and Fatally Injured by Mother’s Boyfriend
October 16, 2016
- The Case of Emmaleigh Barringer, 10 months
- Suspect Benjamin Taylor, Amanda Adkins
Ripley, WV – Benjamin Taylor, 32 was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after being convicted of sexually assaulting and killing his girlfriend’s 10-month-old daughter, Emmaleigh Barringer, in Jackson County, West Virginia.
The case began on October 3, 2016, when deputies responded to a home in Ripley after receiving a report of an injured infant. According to investigators, Amanda Adkins, Emmaleigh’s mother, found her daughter unresponsive while she was in the care of her new boyfriend, Benjamin Ryan Taylor of Cottageville.
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.
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.
According to police, three other children were in the house at the time. When deputies arrived, they found Adkins holding the infant. Investigators said Emmaleigh had suffered severe injuries and was transported for emergency medical treatment. She was later transferred to Charleston Area Medical Center, where family members said she was declared clinically brain dead. Several days later, Emmaleigh died.
News that baby Emmaleigh Barringer died rocked her family even though they knew early on her brain damage was so severe only a miracle would save her.
“The only way justice is going to be served is if he feels every ounce of pain that he caused her too,” explained Danielle Adkins.
Adkins is a first cousin of Emmaleigh’s mother. The woman found her daughter on the basement floor three days previously at her home in Ripley.
Adkins said that her cousin held her daughter as she took her last breath. “It wasn’t enough that he took her innocence, he had to take her life too.”
At the time of the initial investigation, Taylor was charged with first-degree sexual assault. Investigators said he initially told deputies he did not know how the child was injured. According to the criminal complaint, Taylor later told authorities he had taken Emmaleigh to the basement while doing laundry but had “blacked out” and did not remember what happened.
Investigators said evidence collected at the home led them to believe Taylor was responsible. Deputies testified that when they arrived, Taylor had blood on his torso and a wet spot on his clothing. Authorities also obtained search warrants for his clothing and DNA samples.
Jackson County Sheriff Tony Boggs said at the time that investigators had not identified a motive.
“I don’t know of any normal human that could fathom what would possess somebody to do that,” Boggs said.
After Emmaleigh’s death, prosecutors upgraded the charges against Taylor. A grand jury later indicted him on 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 or custodian.
The case drew widespread attention throughout West Virginia. During the investigation and court proceedings, members of the community gathered to remember Emmaleigh and call attention to child abuse prevention. A bill known as “Emmaleigh’s Law” was introduced following her death and later signed into law by Governor Jim Justice. The law increased the potential penalty for child abuse causing death from 10 to 40 years in prison to a sentence of 15 years to life.
Before trial, attorneys argued several motions involving evidence, including phone records, search warrants, and laboratory results. Prosecutors argued that information from Taylor’s phone, including internet searches and messages, was relevant to proving intent. The defense argued the evidence could unfairly influence jurors.
The trial began in March 2019 in Jackson County Circuit Court. During opening statements, Jackson County Prosecutor Katie Franklin told jurors that the case would focus heavily on the circumstances surrounding Emmaleigh’s death but asked them to remember the child beyond the events that led to her death.
“You’re not going to hear a whole lot about the 10 months she was alive,” Franklin told the jury.
Franklin said Emmaleigh was an innocent child who trusted those responsible for caring for her.
“She was a ten-month-old child who loved and trusted in the way that only babies can. She didn’t deserve to be sexually assaulted, she didn’t deserve to be murdered. She was innocent,” Franklin said.
Amanda Adkins testified during the trial about finding her daughter and calling for help. She told jurors that Emmaleigh had been a fighter since birth.
“She was born 8 weeks early, but she was a fighter,” Adkins said.
Law enforcement officers also testified about their response to the home and the evidence collected during the investigation. Chief Deputy Ross Mellinger of the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office described receiving the early morning call from another deputy.
“He says, ‘sorry to wake you, but I think I have a dead baby.’ And you know how things are when you wake up in the middle of the night, you kind of rub your eyes. I asked him to repeat what he just said. He said, ‘I think I have a dead baby, I need you to come out.’ He said he was on scene here and there was an infant child and he believed it had been sexually assaulted. I just kind of sat there for a second trying to process what he was telling me,” Mellinger testified.
The defense maintained that Taylor was falsely accused. His attorney, Tim Rosinsky, argued that investigators focused too narrowly on Taylor and should have considered other possibilities.
Responding to the defense’s argument, Mellinger said the evidence led investigators to focus on the immediate crime scene.
“This particular crime scene didn’t involve what you called the neighborhood. Matter of fact, it was even more restrictive than the residence itself. It was more restricted than just one level of the residence; it was restricted to one room and particularly one area of that room,” Mellinger said.
During the trial, Taylor testified in his own defense. He told jurors he had consumed alcohol the night of Emmaleigh’s death and said he had no memory of the events that occurred.
Asked by Franklin whether he denied committing the crimes, Taylor responded:
“I don’t know how I could deny it if I don’t remember. I wouldn’t feel comfortable denying it.”
Taylor testified that he remembered doing laundry and listening to music but said he could not recall what happened to Emmaleigh.
“I do not,” Taylor said when asked whether he remembered raping and murdering the child.
He told jurors he did not believe he committed the crimes.
“If I can’t remember, I can’t say one way or another, but I know it wasn’t me,” Taylor said.
The defense presented testimony from family members and friends who described Taylor as someone who had been caring toward children and had not displayed violent behavior. Witnesses included Taylor’s father, mother, brother, the mother of his son, and others who testified about his character.
Taylor’s mother, Rida Taylor, told the jury she did not believe her son was capable of the crimes.
“Benji loves kids, and this is not . . . no,” Rida Taylor said.
Prosecutors argued that the evidence demonstrated Taylor’s responsibility for Emmaleigh’s death. Franklin told jurors that his actions after the assault showed a lack of concern for the child’s life.
“Instead of trying to get her help, he tried to wash away the blood even while she lay gasping for air and grasping to life,” Franklin said.
After only about two hours of deliberation, the jury found Benjamin Taylor guilty of first-degree murder, death of a child by child abuse, and sexual abuse by a guardian. Two additional charges were superseded by the convictions. The seven-woman, nine-man jury also recommended that Taylor receive no mercy.
During the verdict, Taylor reportedly rocked back and forth with his hand covering part of his face as members of Emmaleigh’s family reacted emotionally in the courtroom.
Following the conviction, Chief Deputy Ross Mellinger reflected on the impact of the case.
“A piece of all of us died that day that Emmaleigh passed away,” Mellinger said.
He said the circumstances surrounding the case were difficult for investigators and the community.
“I don’t know how you even prepare for a case like this,” Mellinger said.
In April 2019, a Jackson County Circuit Court judge sentenced Benjamin Taylor, then 33, to life in prison without the possibility of parole for first-degree murder. He was also sentenced to 40 years for death of a child by child abuse and at least 10 years for sexual abuse by a guardian or custodian. The first two sentences were ordered to run consecutively.
During sentencing, Franklin argued that Taylor deserved no leniency.
“That’s how much mercy he had for Emmaleigh Barringer, that’s how much care he had for the life he took, show him that level of care, show him that level of mercy, in other words, show him none,” Franklin said.
The conviction and sentence brought the legal proceedings in the case to a close, but the death of Emmaleigh Barringer continued to affect her family, investigators, and the community that followed her case.
