By Taylor Likens
At 2:10 p.m. Thursday, Daphne Spurlock was found guilty of Injury to a Child.
In March 2012, police responded to a call from Spurlock’s husband to find their 4-year-old son, Michael Spurlock, severely beaten and in critical condition. After the boy was flown by air ambulance to the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Daphne Spurlock confessed to police she had repeatedly stomped on the child’s neck and head, and cut his throat in an attempt to rid him of demonic possession. Spurlock was then charged with Injury to a Child.
Michael Spurlock’s fight for survival in the hospital continued over the next month, after which he spent the next 18 months in rehab. He experienced many problems during that time, including difficulty balancing and standing for more than a few seconds at a time. After a long and gradual recovery, the boy was only recently able to walk without a wheelchair. He is still not capable of running normally and it is unlikely he will ever be able to participate in sports.
On May 3, 2012, a CPS hearing took place to determine the future custody of Michael Spurlock, who was still in rehab, and completely unable to walk. Mr. Spurlock did not make an appearance in court, by request of his attorney, but was allowed supervised visits and is reported to be spending as much time with his son as possible. A later hearing in August placed the boy in the custody of his adult sister, Michelle Arroyo.
During the trial, Daphne Spurlock’s defense attorney, George Parnham, who successfully defended Andrea Yates in 2002, was unable to convince the jury to give Spurlock probation based on her alleged mental illness.
On Thursday, Daphne Spurlock was sentenced to 40 years in prison.
