[...]
Anderson told the jury Nichols gave police two stories when her baby was found dead in the back seat of her car.
Anderson said when Nichols was taken to the major crimes unit that day she told police her daughter had not been in her care prior to her death.
"She said the child had been with the grandmother and she returned to Dodge's Chicken Store to drop the child off with the baby-sitter and found she wasn't breathing," Anderson said.
Upon further investigation, Anderson said police found the child had not been in the care of Nichols' mother.
When questioned again, Nichols gave a different statement, admitting she left Faith in the car while she socialized at the Yes Deer Lounge.
Nichols wrote in a three-page statement that she left her parent's house between 10:15 and 10:20 a.m., and went to the Yes Deer Lounge to check her schedule.
"Faith was sleeping in the back seat so I drank a beer and chatted," Nichols wrote.
She said she checked on the child at 10:45 a.m.- 10:50 a.m, and Faith was asleep and still breathing so she went back into the bar and socialized some more.
"I lost track of time," Nichols wrote. Nichols said she fed her daughter and changed her diaper when she went to check on her and said she continued to check on her in 30-minute intervals. Each time she noted Faith was asleep and fine.
Nichols said the windows in the car where half way down, but the air conditioning did not work. When she went to hand Faith to her baby-sitter, Tabitha Parker, she noticed she wasn't breathing.
[...]
Anderson also testified that surveillance tapes obtained from Dodge's Chicken Store only showed someone going to Nichols' car one time at about 11:10 a.m.
Dr. Malcolm Steele testified at 5:20 p.m. Faith arrived at Gateway Medical Center's emergency room.
"She was in cardiac arrest; the child was completely lifeless, she had no signs of life ... she was DOA," Steele said. "Her body temperature was 103.8 Fahrenheit. She looked horrible; she had many areas of peeling skin; her skin was an abnormal texture consistent with severe dehydration. Her skin was loose and had peeled away."
A photo of the dead baby was shown to the jury, and a quiet shock swept the courtroom.
Nichols did not look at the photo but simply covered her mouth as she had several times throughout the day.
[...]
A lengthy video showing footage from that day at the bar was shown to the jury. Nichols coming into the bar, going to talk to the bartender then later sitting at a table socializing and at a few points leaving to go outside. During the course of the video Nichols seems to be very involved in the conversation making many hand gestures.
The tape lasted at least two hours.
Watts testified that he and Nichols left the Yes Deer and went to the Speakeasy, another bar. They also visited Enterprise Car Rental so he could exchange cars. He also testified that while the defendant had beers at both bars, she never appeared drunk. He also told the court, that she never mentioned the baby in the car back at Yes Deer Lounge.
"She said she had to leave because she had to pick up Faith at the baby-sitter and then she asked me if she could borrow $20 for diapers and formula for the baby," Watts said.
Watts said he was devastated when he learned the baby had been in the car the whole time, and was found dead.
the cutest baby
