Joseph David Heard was found guilty of capital murder by a jury in Harrison County. He was convicted for beating and suffocating his 2-year-old stepson in a 45-minute incident on Thursday.
Afterwards, Judge Larry Bourgeois requested the jury to confirm the verdict. The jury will make a decision on Friday about whether to give Heard, who is 41 years old, a life sentence without the possibility of parole or the death penalty. Heard is being tried for the murder of 2-year-old Hayden Lee Bataille, which occurred on December 27, 2021.
Hailey Lynn Bataille Heard, who is 24 years old, is currently serving a life sentence for the crime of murdering her own son.
According to his mother, Joseph David Heard hit the toddler multiple times in the stomach and head on the morning of his death. When the toddler cried out in pain, he hit even harder.
On the morning of December 27, 2021, Joseph David Heard was unhappy because the young boy with curly blond hair had dirtied his diapers during the night.
The boy was punished after he took too long to get a juice box from the fridge during bath time.
Hayden’s screaming stopped when his mother said she went into the living room of their one-bedroom apartment, where his stepfather was still hitting him. During her testimony, she said that she placed her hand over her child’s mouth and nose to stop them from crying and hitting.
Hayden turned blue, lost consciousness, and died from suffocation.
During his defence testimony on Thursday, Heard denied committing child abuse. He said that he went into the living room, found out that the boy wasn’t breathing, and did CPR to save him.
Even though Heard never saw Hayden’s first bruise on the day of his murder, he denied any involvement in the crime or mistreatment.
However, in the police body camera footage from Biloxi at the couple’s house, Heard notices the bruises and mentions that Hayden enjoys playing rough.
He said he had noticed bruising on the child before, but his wife claimed that the toddler had fallen from a bed or couch.
As Heard denied, prosecutors mentioned that a phone forensic analysis revealed that he searched online for ways to remove bruises. Heard sent an email to his wife suggesting that banana peels might help them find a solution and make something go away faster.
The autopsy revealed that the toddler had bruises and broken bones on their face, head, stomach, back, and legs.
According to Joseph David Heard’s lawyer, Donald Rafferty, he believes that Hailey Heard caused the toddler’s death by covering his mouth and suffocating him.
In the beginning of the trial, Joffe explained to the jury that Hailey Heard had experienced repeated domestic violence from Heard. Joffe also mentioned that her son’s stepfather had mistreated and harmed him throughout their one-year relationship.
Officials initially thought that a child had drowned when they received a 911 call in the morning about a child who was not responsive.
On St. Mary Boulevard, the Biloxi police, firefighters, and American Medical Response paramedics discovered a toddler who was fully dressed and lying on the living room floor. The police in Biloxi said that the child was not wet.
According to Mark Dillard, who is an AMR paramedic, Hayden was not moving and gasped for air twice before eventually stopping. Dillard noticed that the toddler had serious injuries, but continued to try to revive them. The firefighter brought Hayden to the ambulance, and AMR quickly took him to Merit Health in Biloxi.
Dr. Leanne Lee, the doctor in the emergency department, attempted various life-saving procedures on Hayden. Unfortunately, she pronounced him dead on December 27, 2021, at 7 a.m.
During the trial, the police in Biloxi reviewed multiple pages of text messages exchanged between Heard and his wife. He frequently complains about Hayden’s bad behaviour and talks about how he will discipline him.
Hailey Heard said that sometimes Joseph David Heard would punish the child by making him stand up and repeatedly move his arms up and down for hours at a time.
According to her, Joseph David Heard would sometimes make Hayden stay on his potty chair for a long time after he had a dirty diaper.
