Who is Paul Conway? Army medic who raped and strangled 9-month-old daughter to death with cord gets 15 years
CLARKSVILLE, TENNESSEE: An army medic, who admitted that he had strangled his 9-month-old twin daughter to death using a cord, has now been jailed for 15 years. Paul Conway, 25, who worked at Fort Campbell from Tennessee, has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder before a bench trial where he had been charged with neglect, rape and murder. It has been reported that arrest warrants state how Conway had got candid on his heinous crime while doing a police interview, The Leaf-Chronicle reveals.
The incident had taken place at Conway's home around 7 am on November 14, 2017. The authorities were called to the house after a 911 caller had told them that they were performing CPR on the baby. However, the baby was pronounced dead just 40 minutes later. While providing a statement to the police, Conway revealed that he had raped and then murdered Adeline though he retracted his confession eventually. The authorities who had investigated the case were able to determine that the baby had been sexually assaulted and that a cord had been wrapped around her neck which led to her death, Clarksville Now reports.
Conway was charged with aggravated rape of a child, two counts of first-degree murder in perpetration of a felony and aggravated child abuse and neglect in 2018. He had been due to appear for a bench trial in November but had pleaded guilty to second-degree murder as part of a "no contest" agreement. Conway has been sentenced to 15 years in prison with no possibility of parole. Assistant district attorney Kimberly Lund, who was prosecuting the case, said: "This has been a very difficult case for all parties involved. There will never be a sentence harsh enough to ease the death of a child." "Adeline was a beautiful baby whose life was taken far too soon. I hope her sister and family can find peace now that this case has been resolved," Lund revealed.
At the time of the incident, Conway had been booked into the Montgomery County Jail on a $100,000 bond on the rape charge. As per an innocence website which had been set up on his behalf, revealed that Conway had reported for duty at 4.30 am at Fort Campbell in the morning the day the incident took place after leaving his wife and twin daughters home. Around 7 am, his wife went to check on the babies and found that "Adeline had gotten the dehumidifier cord wrapped around her arm and neck during the night. Adeline’s motor skills were developing … and she had just started to crawl and grab things."
Earlier reports by the Leaf-Chronicle had revealed that Conway had told the authorities that he had tied a cord around the neck of the baby to "keep her from crying". At the time of the crime, friends, neighbors and family members were unable to comprehend that Conway had committed a crime. His family's pastor, Paul Meredith, at the Grace Baptist Church had said, "His character and reputation within the church family, and in the community at large, has always brought honor to his family." Many had believed that there was some misunderstanding or mistake.