A Mississippi babysitter, aged 24, has been sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for the murder of a 2-year-old boy under her care. Makallie Elizabeth Durham was handed the maximum sentence by Circuit Judge Michael P. Mills Jr. on Friday after she admitted to the capital murder charge. Durham also confessed to four counts of felonious child abuse related to the harm inflicted on the toddler and his infant sister, leading to an additional 40-year sentence to be served consecutively.
The First Circuit District Attorney’s Office confirmed that Durham would not be eligible for parole or any other form of release. The charges against Durham detailed a four-day period of abuse starting on September 9, 2022. Two of the child abuse counts claimed that Durham intentionally harmed the 2-year-old by hitting him in the face or head on September 9 and 12. The other two counts alleged similar abuse against the boy’s younger sister on September 11 and 12.
Durham was initially charged with one count each of capital murder and child abuse before additional felonies were added to the indictment. The case came to light when Alcorn County sheriff’s deputies and emergency medical personnel responded to a call about an unresponsive child at a residence in Corinth, Mississippi, around 9 p.m. on September 13, 2022.
Upon arrival, deputies found the 2-year-old boy unresponsive, with multiple bruises and abrasion marks on his body. He was immediately rushed to Magnolia Regional Hospital. The boy’s 11-month-old sister was also in the house, showing signs of physical abuse. She too was transported to the same hospital. Both children were later transferred to Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.
Investigations revealed that Durham was the children’s babysitter at the time of the incident, leading to her arrest. The injuries sustained by both children were deemed non-accidental by prosecutors. Tragically, the 2-year-old boy succumbed to his injuries and was declared dead on September 15, 2022.