the aaron thompson trial Lowe's son recalls Aaroné's last beating By Carlos Illescas The Denver Post Posted: 08/29/2009 01:00:00 AM MDT Updated: 08/29/2009 01:28:09 AM MDT CENTENNIAL — Aarone Thompson was screaming and crying while her father, Aaron Thompson, beat her with a hairbrush in the family bathroom, then there was "dead silence," one of the children living in the home testified Friday. "There was a night when she was crying, then all of a sudden it stopped," the 18-year-old son of Shelley Lowe, Thompson's former girlfriend, testified in Arapahoe County District Court. The teen said he was walking by the bathroom that night and saw Thompson hitting the little girl with the hairbrush. She was crying, then it was "dead silence," Lowe's son said. He said when Thompson came out of the bathroom he had blood on his hands. The next day, Lowe's son said, Aarone was gone. He said he last saw Aarone on his 11th birthday, which was March 10, 2002. Aarone would have been 3 1/2 years old then. Thompson reported his daughter missing on Nov. 14, 2005, saying she ran away after a fight over a cookie. Thompson faces 60 criminal counts, including child abuse resulting in death, and other abuse charges in connection with the seven other children living in the home on East Kepner Place in Aurora. Lowe died in 2006. On Thursday, the teen's former psychotherapist, Simon Dwyer, testified that the teen told Dwyer in a session that Thompson had beaten the girl and that Thompson and Lowe told him to "finish her off" with a butcher knife. But Lowe's son testified that he lied to Dwyer to protect the other children and prevent them from having to testify in the case. Defense attorneys tried to raise more doubts about the credibility of Lowe's son, because he has apparently told numerous versions of what happened to Aarone. When asked by defense attorney Lucienne Boyd if he remembered telling investigators that Aarone was beaten with a bat and that he, Lowe and Thompson drove to a nearby park and buried her, he said he didn't. http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_13227494?source=rss

Posted: 6:56 AM Sep 8, 2009 Defense to Give its Side in Case of Missing Girl The defense will open its case in the Aarone Thompson trial. Reporter: AP The defense is expected to open its case when the trial of an Aurora man charged with fatal child abuse reconvenes. The trial of Aaron Thompson will resume Tuesday. Thompson is charged with 60 criminal counts in the disappearance of his daughter, Aarone. It's not known if he will take the stand. Thompson reported Aarone missing in 2005, when she would have been 6. Investigators believe she died two years earlier. Children who lived in the house with Thompson and his girlfriend, Shely Lowe, have testified that the two frequently beat them. Some have testified that they last saw Aarone after she was disciplined. Thompson's attorneys have blamed Lowe for Aarone's death. Lowe died of heart failure in 2006. http://www.kktv.com/home/headlines/57697367.html

Jury begins 9th day in missing girl case Body of Aarone Thompson has not been found Daily staff report newsroom@vaildaily.com Vail, CO Colorado CENTENNIAL, Colorado — Jurors in the trial of an Aurora man accused in the disappearance of his daughter are set to begin a ninth day of deliberations in the drawn-out case. Aaron Thompson is charged with fatal child abuse and dozens of other crimes in the death of Aarone Thompson. Thompson reported his daughter missing in November 2005, when she would have been 6. Authorities believed she may have died about two years earlier. Her body has not been found. Deliberations resume Monday morning. The trial lasted six weeks. http://www.vaildaily.com/article/20090928/NEWS/909289996/1062/RSS

Aaron Thompson To Be Sentenced Tuesday Father Convicted Of Child Abuse Resulting In Death Deb Stanley, 7NEWS Producer POSTED: 10:36 am MST November 9, 2009 UPDATED: 11:04 am MST November 9, 2009 AURORA, Colo. -- A father found guilty in September of child abuse resulting in death in the disappearance and presumed death of Aarone Thompson will be sentenced Tuesday. Aaaron Thompson was found guilty on 31 counts ranging from conspiracy to commit child abuse, false reporting to authorities, concealing death, conspiracy to conceal death, child abuse resulting in injury and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The jury in September could not reach a unanimous decision on two counts -- abuse of a corpse and conspiracy to commit abuse of a corpse -- so a mistrial was declared on those two charges. Attorney Phil Cherner said the first three guilty charges alone will probably put Thompson in prison for the rest of his life. Jurors told 7NEWS that they decided early on that Thompson was guilty of child abuse resulting in death. "That was taken care of pretty quick," said Juror No. 2166, who did not wish to be identified. "I'd say it took two days." Juror No. 2019 agreed -- Thompson killed his daughter, although prosecutors never said exactly how. "The evidence was left very unclear and left for some interpretation. But overall, I had no issue with that," Juror No. 2019 said. Prosecutors expressed relief over the mixed verdict, knowing that Thompson was found guilty of the most serious charges. "It's one step closer for justice for Aarone. I think if you were ask that question to the police, to (Detective) Randy Hansen, I think they would say justice would be the day that they find her body," said prosecutor Bob Chappell. Defense attorneys said after the trial they would appeal the verdict. Thompson showed no emotion when the verdict was read in the packed Arapahoe County courtroom in September. Throughout the trial, he did not move nor speak. "The members of this jury heard children testify about unspeakable abuses that they endured for many years in the Thompson household and about the hellish world that they woke up to every morning. And they heard about a little girl who spent much of her short life confined to a coat closet and who disappeared into thin air one morning and has never been heard from or seen from again, " said Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates. Even though prosecutors believed Aarone was killed years ago -- perhaps in 2004 or earlier -- her body has never been found. Thompson reported Aarone missing in November 2005, when she would have been 6, but prosecutors believe she may have died about two years earlier. A lot of the testimony over the six-week trial came from the seven children who lived in the home with Thompson and his girlfriend, Shely Lowe. All but one of the children testified in person, saying they suffered horrific abuse at the hands of Thompson and Lowe. The jury also heard more than 24 hours of video-recorded and audio-recorded testimony. Thompson did not testify during the trial. His attorneys admit that Thompson lied about what happened to Aarone, but that he did not kill her. Defense attorneys blame Lowe for killing Aarone. According to the charges, the jury found that Thompson was guilty of killing Aarone and covering her body, but found him not guilty of some of the child abuse charges resulting from the testimony of the older teens. http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/21561948/detail.html

Nov 10, 2009 4:57 pm US/Mountain Judge Hands Aaron Thompson 114 Year Sentence Reporting Rick Sallinger CENTENNIAL, Colo. (CBS4/AP) ― The Aurora man convicted in September of fatal child abuse, false reporting to authorities and concealing a death in the disappearance and presumed death of his daughter will spend 114 years behind bars. Aaron Thompson didn't speak at his sentencing hearing on Tuesday morning at the Arapahoe County courthouse. Judge Valeria Spencer started out by ruling Thompson should get 48 years in prison for the charge of child abuse resulting in death. A total of 66 more years were given on the other charges. "You will be held accountable that a child is no longer on the face of this earth because of your behavior," Spencer said before handing down the sentence, adding that even if Lowe, who died of heart failure in 2006, was more to blame for the death, Thompson should have done something. "You have failed as a father. You have failed as a man. You had no courage when courage was called for." Lynette Thompson, the mother of his daughter Aarone from Detroit, was among those who did address the court on Tuesday morning. She said she wants Aaron Thompson to write a journal about their daughter Aarone while in prison and send the entries to her every week. She added that she will send Aaron a card on every holiday and Aarone's birthday with the letters WIAP, which stands for "Where is Aarone please?" "I think someday it will be revealed," Lynette Thompson said outside of court, adding she was pleased with the sentence. "He needs to pay." Lynette Thompson said Aaron Thompson was a "good gentleman" when she married him years ago. Her daughter, 19-year-old Shaunterius Johnson, said Aaron Thompson took care of her since she was 3, and she never thought he would commit such a crime. Thompson's mother, Earia Cloman of Detroit, testified in his defense, saying he loves his children and is a hard worker. "He's not the monster he's made out to be," she said. "Please realize these things when you are sentencing him." Aaron Thompson said Aarone ran away because of an argument over a cookie but during his 6 week long trial earlier this year his lawyers acknowledged that Aarone was already dead when he reported her missing in November 2005. They tried to pin the blame on Thompson's live-in girlfriend Shely Lowe, who died in 2006 from heart problems. A grand jury indictment released publicly in April 2008 stated Aarone died because she was undernourished, suffered cruel punishment and was denied medical care. Aurora police have urged Thompson to tell them where he buried his daughter's body. http://cbs4denver.com/local/aarone.aaron.thompson.2.1303058.html