A Milam County Grand Jury is scheduled Thursday to get the capital murder case of a 20-month-old girl whose Dec. 3 death was attributed to her being “punched, slapped, shaken and finally squeezed until she was motionless.”
Patricia Ann “Annie” Rader was pronounced dead at 6:11 p.m. that day at 720 San Gabriel.
Shawn Vincent Boniello, 30, of Rockdale, formerly of Albuquerque, New Mexico, was arrested by Rockdale Police and was charged with capital murder.
An arrest affidavit by Rockdale Police Lt. Stephen Goodrich said Boniello confessed “out of anger and frustration” to squeezing the child for about three minutes until feeling “bones begin to pop and crush.”
DEATH PENALTY—Prosecutor Bill Torrey said he planned to bring the case before the grand jury’s December session on Thursday.
Torrey said he has not made up his mind about seeking the penalty, but noted a number of factors in his decision. He said, although a death penalty trial would be expensive, “cost is not a determining factor for this office whether to proceed with a death penalty trial.”
At least one member of the toddler’s family has called for the death penalty.
Torry emphasized no decision has been made on what punishment would be sought. If convicted of capital murder under Texas law the only possible punishments are death or life without parole.
The prosecutor said once his office has received the final reports and evidence from the Rockdale Police Department he will review the complete case.
A statement from the prosecutor’s office Monday afternoon said: “After review, and only after review, DA Torrey will meet with the family of Patricia Ann Rader to discuss the case and what options we will have for the trial.”
“Only after that meeting will our office know if we are seeking the death penalty for this heinous act,” he said.
$1-MILLION—Torrey noted as a rule of thumb a death penalty case costs a county about $1-million.
He also cited the difficulty of obtaining a death penalty, especially in the case of a defendant “with no appreciable record” like Boniello.
“Typically you need an extensive and violent criminal history to sustain a finding of ‘future dangerous’ that is needed to affirm a death sentence on appeal,” he said.
“My impression at this point is that the future dangerous finding would be difficult to prove on appeal,” Torrey said.
‘FRUSTR ATION’—
Goodrich’s affidavit indicated police were called at 5:44 p.m. Dec. 3 by the victim’s uncle and found the “unresponsive” toddler had sustained extensive injuries including “scratches, bruising and swollen knots on her head, neck, arms, stomach and legs.”
Sgt. Jody Tillery and emergency workers attempted to render aid. Rader was pronounced dead at 6:16 p.m. by Justice of the Peace Andy Isaacs.
Boniello, described by police as “a man transitioning to a woman,” was interviewed and confessed to “shaking and finally squeezing her until she was motionless.
Sheriff Chris White told The Reporter that Boniello, who also goes by the name Shayla Angeline Boniello, is currently being held in a separation cell “for his protection” but would be held in a male cell if moved into the general jail population.
Police said Boniello was in a relationship with the child’s grandfather, who was the custodial guardian and renter of the residence.
The child had been in the protective custody of Child Protective Services.
Another affidavit said Sgt. Tillery found the child on the floor of a back bedroom with the defendant “over the top attempting compressions.”
The other affidavit cites a case against Boniello for abandoning/endangering a child criminal negligence.
It noted a small amount of marijuana and pipes were found in the residence and the defendant admitted to smoking marijuana while the child was present.
EXPERIENCE—Torrey noted he’d been involved in a previous death penalty case which did not end well for the prosecution.
“I was involved as a special prosecutor in a Lee County capital murder case 25 years ago,” Torrey said.
“Two of the jurors could not vote for death and, according to post-verdict interviews, they said ‘he (the defendant) deserved it but they could not (vote for death) even though at jury selection they asserted they could,” he said.
“Much time and money was spent in a needless trial, as the defendant would have pleaded for life (sentence),” he added.
“Remember, it only takes one juror to vote against the death penalty to nix it,” he said. “The death penalty verdict must be unanimous. After findings on the special issues that mandate a death sentence, the jury can still consider mitigating evidence for life, not death.”
EXECUTED—It has been 25 years since anyone was put to death for a Milam County crime.
On Nov. 11, 1993, 32-year old Anthony Quinn Cook was executed for the slaying of University of Texas student David Van Tassel at a roadside park off Texas 36 between Buckholts and Rogers, just inside the Milam-Bell County line.
The slaying occurred in June, 1988.
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