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A man who dumped the body of a 3-year-old Caroline County boy into Lake Anna will get 10 years in prison, a Spotsylvania County judge reaffirmed yesterday.
Herman Lee Black, 49, was in court yesterday to ask Circuit Judge Ann Hunter Simpson to reduce the 10-year prison sentence he got for the involuntary manslaughter and felony child neglect of Tyreek Davis.
Tyreek died Sept. 29, 2004, and his body wasn't found until this past February. Black disclosed the location of Tyreek's remains to detectives in part to receive a chance at a lighter sentence.
In tearful testimony yesterday, Black explained what led to Tyreek's body being wrapped in a large brake drum and dumped into about 18 feet of water near the Harris Bridge in Lake Anna.
Black was living with girlfriend Linette Davis and her four children, including Tyreek, in a Carmel Church motel room when the incident occurred. Black agreed to watch Tyreek that September day.
Black testified that he was going about 65 mph on U.S. 1 near Thornburg when he had to slam on the brakes of his van to avoid a car. He said Tyreek, who was in the back and had taken off his seatbelt, was thrown to the floor.
Black testified that he didn't think Tyreek was badly hurt. He said the boy ate lunch, spoke and jumped around. The boy later took a nap and was unresponsive when Black tried to wake him up. Black testified that he tried to perform CPR on the boy, but that he couldn't revive him.
Black, who said he drank more than a case of beer and smoked marijuana that morning, said he began to panic. A convicted felon several times over, Black said he began thinking about what police would say about Tyreek's unwitnessed death. He said he was sure he'd face murder charges and wouldn't get a fair trial.
Black, who was self-employed and worked for a tree service, was cutting wood at the time at his brother's home on Granite Springs Road. He said while he was walking around and thinking about what to do, he came upon a brake drum.
Black testified that he then put the 35-pound boy into the 18- by 18- by 8-inch iron brake drum and wrapped it with a 5-foot rope and a towing strap with a metal buckle. He then dumped the 80-pound drum into Lake Anna.
"I didn't know what else to do," Black said. "I was scared. I knew I wasn't going to get a fair trial."
Black said that he intended to pull Tyreek's body out of the water, but that people kept driving across the bridge that connects Louisa and Spotsylvania counties on U.S. 522. He said he wanted to tell Spotsylvania detectives what happened, but he didn't trust them enough. He stressed that he didn't intentionally kill Tyreek.
Black told detectives three different stories about what happened to Tyreek. When he told them the boy disappeared at the Granite Springs Road property, a massive hunt involving hundreds of people ensued. He admitted yesterday that the three stories were all lies.
Black entered an Alford plea--meaning he believed there was enough evidence for a conviction but that he didn't admit guilt--in January. But he didn't tell authorities the location of Tyreek's body until February.
Spotsylvania Commonwealth's Attorney William Neely agreed to consider reducing Black's sentence if he revealed the grave site and submitted to a polygraph test. Neely also required that an autopsy report support the final story told by Black.
Dr. Darin Trelka testified yesterday that the physical evidence was inconsistent with Black's version of the boy's death. Trelka said the chairs in the van were well-padded, and that if Tyreek's head hit the floor there would have been some blood.
Trelka also testified that Tyreek's symptoms would have been more severe before he died and would have likely included nausea and vomiting. His skull, which was recovered in Lake Anna, was not fractured. The autopsy report states that it's unclear whether Tyreek was dead when he entered the water.
Defense attorney Allen Bareford pointed out that the skull is not fractured in all fatal head injuries, and that the same symptoms do not always occur. Bareford said the autopsy does not refute Black's story and argued that Black deserved a sentence reduction for giving Linette Davis what she most wanted to know--where Tyreek was.
Neely disagreed. The prosecutor said it'll always be unclear exactly what happened to Tyreek, but that the autopsy proves that the boy didn't die as Black said.
"This man should not be rewarded for something he should have done from day one," Neely said.
Circuit Judge Ann Hunter Simpson told Black his testimony was "heartfelt and earnest" and applauded him for finally coming forward with the information about Tyreek's body. But she said there wasn't enough evidence to alter the 10-year sentence.
Linette Davis also testified yesterday. She said it really didn't matter to her if Black's sentence was reduced; she said she just wanted to know where Tyreek was. She also testified that Black answered most of the questions she had about Tyreek's death.
But Davis said one question remains:
"Just one word--why?"
To reach BILL FREEHLING:
Email: bfreehling@freelancestar.com
