RIPLEY, W.Va. (AP) - A judge has set an August trial date for a West Virginia man accused of sexually assaulting and killing an infant girl.
Jackson County Circuit Clerk Bruce DeWees told The Parkersburg News and Sentinel on Wednesday that the trial for Benjamin Ryan Taylor was set to begin Aug. 8. Taylor is charged with murder, sexual assault and child abuse in the death last October of 10-month-old Emmaleigh Elizabeth Barringer.
Taylor told deputies he took the baby to the basement of an apartment but “blacked out” and didn’t know how the injuries occurred. Taylor’s public defender, Kevin Postalwait, declined to comment.
Meanwhile, media report the West Virginia Senate passed a bill known as “Emmaleigh’s law” on Wednesday that would increase the sentence for those convicted of child abuse cases causing death to 15 years to life. The bill now goes to the House for consideration.
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