Mom spared death in microwave killing

DAYTON, Ohio, Sept. 4 (UPI) -- The jury that convicted an Ohio woman of killing her month-old daughter in a microwave was unable to agree on a penalty.

The impasse in deliberations in the penalty phase means China Arnold will be spared a death sentence, the Dayton Daily News reported. Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Mary Wiseman discharged the jury Wednesday after about seven hours of deliberations.

The judge scheduled the sentencing for Monday.

Paris Talley was only 28 days old when she suffered fatal burns. Investigators found her DNA in the microwave in Arnold's home in Dayton.

Under Ohio law, juries in death penalty cases can recommend death, life with no parole or life with parole after 25 or 30 years. Judges cannot impose a death sentence without a jury recommendation but can overrule the jury and give a life sentence.

Arnold was convicted of aggravated murder last week. During the short penalty phase, prosecutors put on no witnesses. Several relatives testified on Arnold's behalf along with a psychologist.