Pocomoke man convicted in death of toddler nephew
A Pocomoke City man has been convicted of murder for the death of his nephew, a jury decided Thursday.
Kevin Sewell, 28, was found guilty of all four charges he was facing: 1st degree murder, 2nd degree murder, 1st degree child abuse, and neglect of a minor.
The incident stems from May 2015, when the Keller, Virginia child’s mother left him in the care of Sewell and his wife Amanda Sewell, 26, for an overnight stay at their Pocomoke City home.
The child reportedly sustained injuries after Amanda Sewell went to work and left him at home with her husband. He [child] died days later at the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters in Norfolk, Virginia.
Following the verdict Thursday, Worcester County state’s attorney Beau Oglesby told 47ABC he was not surprised about the outcome or the fact that the jury only took an hour to deliberate.
“We tend not to try to guess or predict what’s going to happen, but I knew the strength of the case so it didn’t surprise me,” explains Oglesby.
Graphic details of the child’s injuries were testified in day one of the trial as Dr. Wendy Gunther, a medical examiner who performed the child’s autopsy, took the stand.
Dr. Gunther testified the child died from abusive head trauma.
She told the jury at least “40 to 50 separate blows to the body” were recorded in the 15-page autopsy along with six blows to the head, and a swelling of the child’s brain.
During closing arguments, Scott Collins, a defense attorney for Sewell, questioned language used in the examiners’ testimony. Terms like “consistent” and “likely” were both used during the trial to describe possible causes of the child’s injuries.
Collins asked the jury, “If these experts can’t be certain, how can we?”
The state’s attorney tells 47ABC, he cannot comment on the strength of the defense’s case; however, “What I will say is the prosecution of these types of cases or any case, but especially this type of case, is only as strong as the investigation.”
He also added it was a team effort between his office and law enforcement agencies, both state and local.
According to Oglesby, a pre-sentencing investigation typically takes 45 days. We’re told an official sentencing date can be expected sometime in November or December.
Amanda Sewell is facing two charges in relation to this case: 1st degree child abuse and neglect of a minor. She is expected to face trial in November.
When asked, Sewell’s attorney Scott Collins told 47ABC he had “no comment” on Thursday’s verdict.
