ARIZONA – An Arizona woman was sentenced to death Monday in the killing of her 10-year-old cousin. The young girl died after being locked in a trunk as punishment for stealing a popsicle reported Fox 10 Phoenix.
As a result of the sentence, Sammantha Allen becomes the third woman condemned to death in the state.
The death of Ame Deal was one of the most shocking murders in recent memory in Arizona. The jury deliberated for more than a week before returning the verdict against Allen. The 29-year-old cousin was convicted in June of first-degree murder and child abuse in the death of Deal in 2011.
“We the jury duly impaneled and sworn in the above entitled actions upon our oaths having considered all the facts and circumstances unanimously find that the defendant should be sentenced to death.”
Allen put her head down and sobbed as the verdict was read.
Deal suffocated after being locked in a trunk as punishment for taking a popsicle. At the time of death Arizona was experiencing triple-digit heat.
“She didn’t care what happened to this child. It was all about what was going to happen to her,” stated a juror. “I was looking for something from her. That was her chance to plead for her life and it just felt short.”
Another juror added, “I think the hardest thing for all of us was the victim and learning about what her life really entailed and the years of abuse that she suffered.”
Sammantha Allen sentenced to death for killing her 10-year-old cousin Ame Deal in 2011 by locking her in a box https://t.co/EwpB50GxpG pic.twitter.com/jiUiZVDQPB
— azfamily 3TV CBS 5 (@azfamily) August 7, 2017
The jurors unanimously agreed that Allen did not seem to be sorry about her role in Deal’s death.
The existing women on Arizona’s death row include Shawn Ford and Wendi Andriano. Ford was convicted of shooting and killing an Arizona father and 9-year-old daughter during a home invasion. Andriano was convicted of brutally killing her husband.
(Photo: Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office)