Yvette Slee is a killer from Tennessee who was convicted in the murder of her son
According to court documents Yvette Slee would attempt to murder her infant Davis Slee III by placing a plastic bag over the infant’s head and suffocating him. However Davis Slee III would not die from his injuries but ended up in a coma. Yvette would be arrested and convicted of attempted murder however the story was not over yet
Seven years after Yvette Slee attempted to kill Davis Slee III the little boy would die from injuries he sustained in the initial attack.
Yvette Slee would end up back in court and charged with murder and would be convicted and sentenced to life in prison
Yvette Slee Now
| Supervision Status: | INCARCERATED | Assigned Location: | WEST TENNESSEE STATE PENITENTIARY |
| Combined Sentence(s) Length: | 60 YRS 0 MTHS 0 DAYS | Supervision/Custody Level: | MINIMUM RESTRICTED |
| Sentence Begin Date: | 12/07/2011 | Sentence End Date: | 03/21/2068 |
Yvette Slee Case
Yvette Slee, the mother of David Slee III, who died at age 7 in 2018 after being severely abused as an infant in 2011, was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday.
The decision was made by Judge William Goodman after a two-day bench trial. Upon agreement by both the state and the defense, the 29-year-old’s life sentence will run concurrent to the 22-year sentence she is already serving after a 2013 conviction of attempted murder and aggravated child abuse.
Expert testimonies
Court was back in session early Wednesday morning after adjourning Monday afternoon, and two experts testified to the severe damage Baby David suffered when he was 8 months old after being suffocated with a plastic bag.
Dr. Deborah Lowen, who served as the director of the Child Abuse Pediatric Department at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital in 2011, said that David’s care team was stumped initially as to what had happened to him when he was brought into the facility.
After questioning from the defense about the possibility of David suffering from a seizure disorder before the abuse took place, Lowen said that the MRI showed no abnormalities that would have been indicative of a seizure disorder, but instead showed massive trauma.
“The MRI showed extensive brain injury in multiple areas of the brain,” Lowen continued. This led the Vanderbilt care team to diagnose David with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, which means for a time, his brain was deprived of oxygen and blood flow.
“His brain was irrevocably damaged when he was 8 months old, and that damage never went away,” Lowen said, adding that his injuries would be consistent with someone having placed a plastic bag over someone’s head, or placing a hand over his face for some time.
Dr. Emily Dennison, a forensic pathologist with the Davidson County Medical Examiner’s Office, agreed with Lowen, and both attributed David’s death to the abuse he suffered on March 3, 2011.
In fact, Dennison testified David’s cause of death, which is listed on his autopsy report and death certificate, is complications from strangulation or suffocation. She said the manner of death, or type of death, was homicide.
Before the court took a recess for lunch, defense attorney Wayne Clemons filed a motion for double jeopardy on the basis that the aggravated child abuse conviction in 2013 was the same offense, and therefore the case should be dismissed.
“I couldn’t bring (this motion) earlier, as it was possible that the actions the state brought arose from a different action or incident,” Clemons said.
He then brought up the unique elements test, adding that both charges arose from the “same act of transaction,” or same incident.
The state’s prosecution team was visibly frustrated as Clemons spoke of case law, some of which is no longer in practice.
Assistant District Attorney Jaclyn Bates argued that David’s death was the unique element of the case, which was not present during the conviction on aggravated child abuse.
The motion was denied, as was Clemons’ subsequent motion for acquittal.
The verdict
After taking 20 minutes to review the evidence Goodman returned with a guilty verdict.
“As so often is the case, there’s no way that this court or anyone else for that matter can make it all right again. The events that occurred back on March 3, 2011, forever changed things. There’s no way that we’ll be able to put all the pieces together,” Goodman said before reading the verdict.
Prisicilla Dakin, David’s grandmother, had lost her voice by the end of today’s trial, but could whisper to Clarksville Now about how she was feeling.
“It don’t bring him back, but it’s good,” Dakin said of the verdict.
She wore a photo of David on a necklace, along with a heart made of stone that contained some of his ashes. She clutched it as Goodman made his comments before announcing the verdict.
“Just glad it’s over with,” said David Slee Jr., Baby David’s father. “I’m ready to go home, relax and just be done with this part of my life.”
“We are pleased with the outcome of the trial. Judge Goodman definitely followed the law, and made the right decision,” assistant district attorney Bates said.
