Judge lets killer choose his own sentence without realizing after he claimed to be 'innocent'
Caliyah was just 15 days old when she was beaten to death by her father, Christopher McNabb
Lucy Devine
Warning: This article contains discussion of child abuse which some readers may find distressing.
A judge let a man who killed his baby daughter choose his own sentence.
Caliyah was just 15 days old when she was beaten to death by her dad, Christopher McNabb.
McNabb was jailed in 2019 for her murder after he told police his daughter had been kidnapped.
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He maintained his innocence even after he was found guilty of the heinous crime.
But when it came to sentencing, the judge seemingly allowed the killer to choose his own sentence.
Caliyah's body was discovered in a Nike backpack in October 2017.
McNabb - and his partner Courtney Marie Bell - were under the influence of crystal meth at the time of the horrific incident and told authorities she had been abducted while they were sleeping.
The pair had been living in a trailer park in Covington, Georgia, which is around 40 miles from Atlanta, when the incident took place.
In court, jurors heard that the family's home was filthy as the couple used drugs and were physically violent towards each other.
McNabb was found guilty of malice murder, felony murder, murder in the second degree, aggravated battery, cruelty to children in the first degree, cruelty to children in the second degree, and concealing the death of another.
Bell was convicted of second-degree murder, second-degree child cruelty, and contributing to the dependency of a minor.
She was handed a sentence of 30 years, the first 15 of which she would serve in confinement.
McNabb maintained his innocence before the judge, as he said: "I would never do this. I'm innocent."
The judge then asked: "You claim you're innocent, so you tell me what sentence the man or woman that you claimed did this should receive."
McNabb replied: "If you ever find out who did this, they deserve to be under the jail," to which the judge replied: "So they should get the maximum sentence?"
When McNabb agreed with that assessment, the judge delivered his verdict: "On the crime of malice murder, I sentence you to life in confinement without parole."
Describing the crime in court, the prosecutor dismissed any notion of the couple's innocence.
District Attorney Layla Zon said: "That child didn't do anything but need love, and her daddy killed her.
"All this fake crying and fake tears he did during the interviews about how much he loved his children and that he did in the courtroom are a joke.
"She was a gift to Cortney Bell and Christopher McNabb.
"That child was doomed the moment they left that hospital. They took pure innocence and brought that child into a life of hell."
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues or want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, the Childhelp USA National Child Abuse Hotline (1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453) operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and receives calls from throughout the United States, Canada, US Virgin Islands, Guam and Puerto Rico.