Milner faces death penalty in toddler murder case

Michael Milner could face the death penalty if convicted in the murder of a Sandusky toddler. In a special session Wednesday, an Erie County grand jury indicted Milner on charges of aggravated murder, murder, felonious assault and endangering children, with a death specification included.Milner, 24, is accused of fatally beating 3-year-old Owen Barker on July 30 at a Fulton Street home. Owen's mother, Danielle Flannery, 22, left the boy in Milner's care at about 6 p.m. that evening as she left for work, police have said. (Flannery is charged with manslaughter in the case. Read more HERE.)Milner, who was Flannery's boyfriend, called 911 at about 7:30 p.m. and said the child was unconscious and was no longer breathing.He maintains Owen sustained the fatal injuries after tripping on a toy. "A baby fell and hit his head and he's not moving," Milner is heard telling a dispatcher in the recorded 911 call that night. "He was playing and he tripped on a freaking truck."An autopsy by the Lucas County coroner, however, found the child suffered multiple injuries, including a fatal blow to the torso, which only another person could have inflicted.The indictment filed against Milner alleges Owen's death was no accident. And because Owen was younger than 13, Milner is eligible to face the death penalty.A passerby — Glenn Fredericks, 30 — had spotted Milner in the driveway of the Fulton Street home just before 7:30 p.m. that night, holding a child's lifeless body in his arms. Fredericks said he stopped and followed Milner into the home, where he convinced Milner to call 911. Fredericks then tried to resuscitate the boy, to no avail.Detectives arrived at the scene and found patches of blood in various areas throughout the home.As Milner was the only person home with the child when he suffered the fatal blows, police arrested him and took him to the Erie County jail, where he's being held on $180,000 bond. He has retained Detroit attorney Carla Marable to represent him.Erie County prosecutor Kevin Baxter said the multiple murder charges give a jury choices if the case goes to trial."We put out all the possible offenses," Baxter said. "Then it gives a petit jury options."If Milner is convicted of aggravated murder, a jury will decide if he receives the death penalty, life in prison without parole, or some other sentence.If Milner is only convicted of murder — which doesn't require prosecutors to prove he intentionally killed Owen — the penalty would be 15 years to life in prison.