In October, we told how Evelyn Lankford (above) was tried for the murder of 9-month-old Eric Sheppard. whom she was babysitting when he died (“Who Killed Baby Eric?”). After Lankford was acquitted, her lawyer and some jurors called for the district attorney’s office to try’ the child’s mother, Roxie Edwards. Though no charges have been filed against Edwards, Lankford’s lawyer, Catherine Shelton, is pushing for a resolution to the case.
Shelton and juror Linda Pace wrote to Gov. Ann Richards’ office asking for her help in bringing the mother to trial and in expunging the charge from Lankford’s record. A Richards official sent that information to the Association of Texas District and County Attorneys in hopes the group could persuade the Dallas DA’s office to reopen the case.
Since the trial, a new witness has surfaced who saw bruises on baby Eric’s face a few days before he died. The witness also confirms the strange pattern of behavior others claimed to see in Edwards after the murder: Though Edwards immediately told friends that the babysitter was the killer. Edwards continued to invite her to social gatherings until Lankford was indicted.
“People just don’t stay friendly with someone who they think has killed their child,” Shelton says.
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