Jason Gallaway Accused Of Beating 3 Mth Old Marissa To Death

[Whisper]

Seaford man charged after infant found unresponsive
Dec 3 2010

A 31-year-old Seaford man was arrested Thursday after his 3-month-old daughter was found not breathing and without a pulse while he was watching her
Jason R. Gallaway, 31, of the 200 block of Hickory Lane, who was charged with two counts of assault by abuse or neglect, is being held in the Sussex Correctional Institution, Seaford police spokesman Capt. Gary Flood said.
About 2:35 p.m. Thursday, police went to Gallaway's home in response to a 911 call for an ambulance for a 3-month-old baby who had allegedly fallen and stopped breathing.
When officers arrived, they found the infant girl unresponsive on a coffee table with no pulse, Flood said.
Officers, along with a firefighter on the scene, began cardio pulmonary resuscitation and rushed the infant by ambulance to Nanticoke Memorial Hospital.
The baby was treated there for head and internal injuries and then taken to A.I. duPont Hospital for Children in New Castle County, where she is listed in critical condition.
According to the father, the baby was sitting in his lap when she fell on the floor and landed on her back, Flood said.
Gllaway told detectives that at that point the baby stopped breathing.
He added that “the same thing happened” on Wednesday when the infant fell on the floor and hit her head, Flood said.
Detectives notified the state Attorney General’s Office in Georgetown along with the state Division of Family Services.
The investigation is ongoing.
[...]http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20101203/NEWS/101203012/Seaford-man-charged-after-infant-found-unresponsive
http://i54.tinypic.com/1zyigix.jpg
Jason Gallaway

Infant Dies, Father Faces More Charges
Dec 7 2010

SEAFORD, Del. - A Seaford man is now being charged with murder by abuse or neglect after his 3-month-old daughter died of injuries suffered on December 2nd. Police say Jason Gallaway, 31, was already charged with two counts of assault by abuse or neglect.
Authorities say the incident occurred on the afternoon of December 2nd when the Seaford Police Department received a 911 call that a 3-month-old had fallen and stopped breathing. Police say they found Marissa Gallaway, with no pulse. After investigating, Gallaway told police that Marissa was sitting in his lap when she fell and landed on her back. Gallaway also told police that the day before the same thing happened with Marissa falling on the floor striking her head.
Marissa, who had been listed in critical condition in A.I. Dupont Children's Hospital, was pronounced dead Sunday evening, December 5th as a result of her injuries. Officials say the victim's body will be turned over the medical examiner's office where an autopsy will be completed.
[...]http://www.wmdt.com/Delmarvas-Top-News-Stories.aspx?item=11836




This is the only thing left up on his FB
http://i51.tinypic.com/10z2qt2.jpg

[Tundratot]

She was laying on his lap, fell off, onto her back --- TWICE! Days apart. So, what we have here is a guy who does not know how to hold a baby securely, and who does not learn from his mistakes? And what's with that silly look on his face?

[Robynne]

I wanna punch that look off his face. Why oh why do these dumb ass baby killers have children. Accident my ass. I wish I had the power to put a protective barrier around all the children in the world so they would all live long, happy, healthy lives. Completely protected from any harm.
R.I.P. Marissa Gallaway

[AmyB80]

From Aunt's FB-
http://i55.tinypic.com/350jdzc.jpg
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=31019747&id=1402808132

From Grandma's FB-
http://i55.tinypic.com/1zqew3k.jpg
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=31078688&id=1300321782

[Tundratot]

Such a sweet round face with wide grey eyes. How could he?!!

[BreakTheSilence]

Oh man! Seeing that beautiful sweet face just breaks my heart. This fucktard needs to just die. Its amazing how these precious babies that might be old enough to roll over (and that's questionable in this case) are falling off laps, falling down, falling off beds. Those pesky young babies really do get around (End sarcasm). I am wondering where the mother of this angel was during this time. Please know I'm not judging just curious. This POS claims the baby fell not once, but twice. Did he bother to tell her the first time, and if so why would she leave baby girl with him again? As I said, not judging her, just curious and putting my thoughts down as they come.

Ok, I was searching further on the local newspaper site where this crime happened. In another article it states that the mother was working.


Again on Thursday, Gallaway said he was alone with the baby in his lap while the mother was at work and the infant "became startled and again he lost his grip of the victim, who then fell to the floor, hitting her head," police said.

At that point, the baby made a gasping noise and went limp, Gallaway told detectives.

http://www.delawareonline.com/article/201012040345/NEWS01/12040335

[Folkie]

Babies are actually pretty sturdy - accidental falls generally don't kill them... my poor baby boy rolled off the bed at three months onto a wooden floor, got checked out at the doctor and apart from a slightly flat head on one side for a couple of weeks, no harm done.

[Silvahalo]

sonofabitch.

He beat and took the life out of baby Marissa, and for what?? 'cause she was crying....getting on his nerves for being a baby?

What a weak, pathetic POS. I am horrified every time I read cases like this. The very thought this grown man, this father beat his baby makes me puke. I don't know how the family is coping with this, the mother, my god, my heart goes out to her. Curse his ass to hell, I'd be shaking with fury over this senseless act of violence. Every time he looks in the mirror I hope it haunts him. My deepest sympathies to the family.

Instead of experiencing her first Christmas, Marissa is dead. Never to see another day, never to be held with love again. My heart breaks for you sweet one, so beautiful you were....a little treasure.
http://i510.photobucket.com/albums/s341/silvahalo68/Fallen%20angels/FallenAngels2/MarissaAnneGallaway.jpg

[Dakota Valkyrie]

Jason Gallaway, 32, was found guilty by a Sussex County jury of murder by abuse in the first degree for killing his daughter, Marissa.

He will face 15 years to life in prison when sentenced on March 23 by Superior Court Judge Richard F. Stokes.

Gallaway was silent after the verdict, but his face contorted and he seemed on the edge of tears as a Delaware Capitol Police officer handcuffed him and led him out of the courtroom. His wife, Heather, collapsed to the ground crying in the courtroom pews, comforted by her sister-in-law.

The jury of five women and seven men took about four hours to convict Gallaway. They chose not to convict him on the lesser charge of second-degree murder by abuse, which Stokes had allowed them to consider. That charge would have resulted in a sentence of two to 25 years behind bars.

Murder by abuse in the first degree required that the jury find that Gallaway acted recklessly; the lesser second-degree offense required a finding of negligence.
[...]

The state had contended that Gallaway beat Marissa to death when her crying interrupted his video game, by either hitting her in the head or slamming her head against a hard surface. They said he may not have meant to kill her, but she died at his hands nonetheless.
[...]

Defense attorneys argued that Marissa's death was a horrible accident, saying she had fallen off her father's lap onto the floor, and noted there was no evidence he had been playing a video game at the time.

Prosecutors said her head injuries could not have been caused by such a short fall, but were more consistent with a fall of several stories. They said the baby had suffered a fractured rib, fractured shoulder, fractured arm bone and had bruising on her face.

Defense attorneys Dean Johnson and Rob Robinson of the public defender's office also pointed out that none of the doctors or nurses who performed Marissa's check-ups noticed anything that would have suggested abuse.
[...]
http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/20120203/NEWS01/202030315

[Nell]

She stayed with him. Ugh. I mean, I see why she would be tempted, such a handsome man, but when he killed her baby she should have gotten a clue he was not all that.

[Whisper]

Seaford man sentenced to life term in infant daughter's death

His wife asks for leniency in decision

GEORGETOWN -- A Seaford man was sentenced to life in prison for the death of his 3-month-old daughter from what a prosecutor called "horrifically cruel and depraved" abuse.

As he imposed the sentence on Jason Gallaway, Superior Court Judge Richard F. Stokes said the infant, Marissa, "suffered at his hands from the time he took over her care" in her sixth week of life.

Gallaway said nothing as he was led from the courtroom after sentencing. His wife, Heather Gallaway, had implored Stokes for a sentence less harsh than a life term.

"I don't even want to go home now. I have no one," she said in court. "My whole family is gone."
[...]
"The prosecutor went out of her way to prove I'm guilty," he told the judge. "But I know I'm not guilty."

Prosecutor Melanie Withers disagreed. Heather Gallaway was a teacher, and her husband cared for their daughter when she returned to work.

"Every day that her mother went to work was another day of pain and torture for this child," Withers told the judge. "There is no doubt that she died in her father's care. She should be growing up. She should have a future ... and he took all that away from her."
[...]
Heather Gallaway, in asking for leniency, said her husband is a better person than the court believes.

"I've heard that, basically, my husband didn't have value. Because he didn't have a job. Because he wasn't educated," she said. "But that's not true. He does have value."

Stokes noted that Marissa had fractures in other bones, apparently suffered at least a week before she was hospitalized. Jason Gallaway knew, the judge said, "that his wife would look away no matter how flagrant his treatment became of their daughter."

The sentencing guidelines for first-degree murder by abuse called for 15 years to life in prison. Stokes cited aggravating factors, including a parole violation on an Oregon harassment conviction, as reasons he imposed the toughest possible penalty.

During his trial and after, Stokes said, Gallaway denied responsibility for his daughter's death and seemed not to grieve for her.

"He used the language of remorse, but his words were unconvincing," Stokes said.
http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120324/NEWS01/203240310/Seaford-man-sentenced-life-term-infant-daughter-s-death?odyssey=nav%7Chead

[Tundratot]

"The prosecutor went out of her way to prove I'm guilty," he told the judge. "But I know I'm not guilty."It's the prosecutor's job to prove you're guilty. I doubt she "went out of her way". Your lawyer's job was to prove your innocence, or at least to disprove the prosecution's evidence. Moron.


"I've heard that, basically, my husband didn't have value. Because he didn't have a job. Because he wasn't educated," she said. "But that's not true. He does have value."
Value he failed to realize or display before he killed your infant daughter. Now, he can prove his value as an object lesson to would-be child abusers and women who would marry/keep abusers in their lives.


Stokes noted that Marissa had fractures in other bones, apparently suffered at least a week before she was hospitalized. Jason Gallaway knew, the judge said, "that his wife would look away no matter how flagrant his treatment became of their daughter."
You apparently didn't find his value as a father lacking. I have to wonder how observant you, as a teacher, are and if you have any value to the children in your classes as a front-line defense against their own abuse? Does your school still employ you? Have they lost faith in your powers of observation, too? Why, FFS, are you not in prison, too?