Marcella Hope Yellowbear

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From the time Marcella was one month she lived with a foster father Jamie Littlehawk Blackburn and his girlfriend Leah Lonebear. In May of 2004 the couple split up and Marcella ended up with her grandmother Ruby Blackburn.  Her foster father warned Ruby not to let Marcella go back to her mother Macalia Blackburn because Macalia had gone back with Andrew Yellowbear. Blackburn also told the court about the parents, “Either one is fine by themselves, but not together." The warnings we ignored and Marcella ended up back with both her parents. Blackburn made attempts to see Marcella after that, but Macalia refused to allow him to see her, and would only talk to him through a window. On June 2, Blackburn asked the police to check on Marcella, and they reported that everything seemed fine. Marcella only lived with her parents for a few short weeks, she didn’t survive.

 

On the night of July 2, 2004 Andrew Yellowbear telephoned the emergency room of Riverton Memorial Hospital and reported that Blackburn was bringing their daughter Marcella, who was not breathing. Soon after Macalia and Marcella arrived, 22 month old Marcella Yellowbear was pronounced dead. Given the nature and extent of Marcella's injuries, the hospital staff suspected child abuse. An autopsy performed revealed almost countless abrasions, wounds, burns, and broken bones.  The cause of Marcella's death was determined to be “repetitive, abusive, blunt-force injuries.”  

 

 

Blackburn and Yellowbear, both were arrested and charged with felony murder. Yellowbear was convicted of two counts of felony murder and two counts of accessory before the fact to felony murder. He was tried on four counts, rather than one. The State sought the death penalty, but Yellowbear was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Macalia Blackburn, pleaded guilty to being an accessory to second degree murder and needs to testify against Yellowbear.

 

They both abused her, it was ongoing abuse and one or the other stood by while the other killed her. I don’t care who did it, as far as I am concerned they both hold equal responsibility to killing this little angel.

 

http://caselaw.findlaw.com/wy-supreme-court/1022912.html

 

 

Marcella Hope Yellowbear was buried in a small, family cemetery on the Wind River

Indian Reservationwhere family members have placed a sign saying:

 "Nobody will hurt you again"

Marcella had to be buried without any clothing because Andrew and the family of her

mother were fighting for control over her body and it had been over a week before the

autopsy was done. It was settled in court that she would be buried in the Blackburn
Family Cemetery.

The director of her funeral convinced the family that it would be best not to dress her

and to have a close casket ceremony.