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Tennessee woman receives life sentence for murder of boy. Torture and abuse on video

tabnews August 17, 2024
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A Springfield woman has been sentenced to life in prison for her role in the death of a 5-year-old boy who suffered blunt force injuries and was malnourished while in her care, investigators say.

Shannon Leigh Elliott was charged in March with two counts of first-degree murder and three counts of aggravated child abuse in connection with the death of Turner Simpkins. She was arrested and remanded to the Cheatham County Jail on $1 million bail.

Elliott pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated child abuse and was found guilty by a Cheatham County General Sessions Court judge during a hearing on July 30. Police said she was the girlfriend of the child's father at the time of the boy's death.

The autopsy revealed bruises, cuts and bite marks

With her no-contrary plea, Elliott does not admit guilt, but also does not deny or contest the state's evidence against her.

Police found the boy dead in his home on Poplar Ridge Road in Chapmansboro in July 2023. An autopsy was later performed on the body.

During Elliott's confession hearing, prosecutors laid out their arguments that they believed would prove Elliott's guilt at trial. They told the court that she tortured the little boy for over a month and that they had video evidence to prove it.

The autopsy revealed that the child had bruises, cuts on his body and bite marks on his hands, prosecutors said.

Emergency personnel arrived at the scene and immediately began treating Turner. They noticed that he was cold to the touch, his body temperature had dropped to 30 degrees, and he was lifeless and weak.

When questioned by investigators, Elliott said Turner had been out of town all weekend, visiting his mother's house in Springfield. When they got home, Turner unbuckled his car seat, opened the door and fell out of the car while it was still going 25 mph, Elliott said, noting the boy told her he wasn't hurt.

She said he had a few scratches.

The car seat was found undamaged inside the car, and there was still liquid in a drink cup in the car seat, prosecutors argued.

Authorities: 40 days of abuse captured on video

A day after the boy's death, Elliott told police that Turner had been alive for an hour before emergency responders attempted to resuscitate him.

When asked about the child's injuries, Elliott said Turner suffered a black eye in a fall at her workplace and scratches on her leg while riding her bike. The bruises on the child's stomach were not present before she left for her mother's house, prosecutors said.

During a visit to Elliott's employer, investigators found detailed video recordings showing Elliott and Turner's interactions over a period of about 79 days. They told the court that abuse occurred in the recordings from at least 40 of those days.

Investigators also said they did not believe the child seat incident even occurred.

Agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation described to the court what they saw on surveillance footage from Elliott's employer. They said they saw Elliott slapping, punching, kicking, biting and strangling the child.

None of this footage was shown in the courtroom.

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