MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WDNews) — Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced Tuesday that the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed the Middle District of Alabama’s denial of habeas corpus relief for Timothy Boyle, who was convicted of the capital murder of a child.
According to the Attorney General’s Office, the decision was issued June 23. Boyle was convicted in Etowah County Circuit Court and sentenced to death on March 12, 2010.
The Attorney General’s Office said Boyle was dating Melissa White in 2005 and lived with White and her two daughters, identified in court records as H.D., 5, and Savannah, who was nearly 2 years old.
According to the release, witnesses described a pattern of abuse toward Savannah, including slamming her head against a car door and burning her with cigarettes.
The Attorney General’s Office stated that one night in late October, Boyle entered the bathroom while the children were bathing and ordered H.D. to leave. H.D. later watched through a crack in the door as Boyle allegedly threw Savannah against the bathtub wall and repeatedly held her underwater.
That night, Savannah became ill while sleeping with her sister. The following morning, H.D. was unable to wake her. The release states Boyle eventually took Savannah to an emergency room, where he provided three conflicting accounts of what had happened.
On Oct. 26, the day after her second birthday, Savannah was pronounced dead.
According to the Attorney General’s Office, an autopsy found that Savannah’s brain had been so severely damaged that tissue had broken off and been forced into her spinal cord. The release states multiple witnesses, including H.D., testified about the abuse Savannah endured.
Boyle was convicted of capital murder of a child under the age of 14 and unlawful possession of a controlled substance. According to the Attorney General’s Office, the jury unanimously recommended the death penalty, and the trial court sentenced him accordingly.
The Attorney General’s Office said Boyle’s conviction and sentence were affirmed on direct appeal, and state post-conviction proceedings concluded without relief in 2018. The Middle District of Alabama denied federal habeas relief in 2022.
“The Eleventh Circuit, having granted review on a single issue, has now affirmed that ruling,” the Attorney General’s Office said in the release.
Attorney General Marshall also praised Deputy Attorney General Lauren Simpson for her work on the case.
