Sky Lyric Allen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Remembering Sky

Sky Lyric Allen was two years old. There is painfully little preserved publicly about the ordinary pieces of Sky's life the things she loved, what made her laugh, or the personality she was developing. Most of what remains in public records is instead connected to the criminal case surrounding her death. But Sky was a little girl before she was ever the subject of a police investigation or a court opinion. She was a daughter. She was two years old. She depended completely upon the person responsible for caring for her to keep her safe. Her name was Sky Lyric Allen, and her life deserves to be remembered separately from the violence that ended it.

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Sky's Story

On May 2, 2013, Marina Middlebrooks killed her two-year-old daughter, Sky. This is not an allegation based only on circumstantial evidence. During the later criminal proceedings, Middlebrooks and prosecutors formally stipulated that Middlebrooks, acting alone, caused Sky's death by stabbing her in the neck. Evidence presented at trial showed that Middlebrooks believed she and Sky possessed what she described as a special “green aura.” She believed people wanted access to this perceived gift and were persecuting them. Middlebrooks came to believe that she and Sky needed to die and go to heaven in order to escape. According to testimony from a psychiatrist who evaluated Middlebrooks, Middlebrooks described placing scissors in Sky's hands and helping the two-year-old stab herself in the neck multiple times. The physical evidence documented the brutality of what happened. Sky suffered multiple stab wounds. One of those wounds severed her jugular vein, causing massive and ultimately fatal blood loss. The medical examiner determined that her wounds were consistent with being inflicted by the sharp edges of an opened pair of scissors. Afterward, Middlebrooks left with Sky's body in her vehicle. A passerby later saw Middlebrooks' vehicle swerving on Ray Owens Road in Columbia County before it crashed into a tree and called 911. First responders found Middlebrooks in the driver's seat. She was wearing only a sweatshirt and was covered in blood. She had suffered numerous wounds herself, including punctures and lacerations to her neck, face, chest, arms, wrists, and knee. Then responders discovered Sky. The two year old's body was on the rear floor of the vehicle, underneath a pile of clothing. Sky was unclothed. Her body was covered in dried blood. She had a gaping stab wound to her neck, and her body had already become cold. A bloody pair of scissors was found in the front passenger seat. Sky was dead.

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The Question of Mental Illness

I think Sky's case warrants this section because mental illness became the central issue at Middlebrooks' trial, and leaving it out would leave out a major part of what actually happened in court.

Middlebrooks did not dispute at trial that she had killed Sky. Instead, she entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. Evidence presented to the jury included Middlebrooks' beliefs about the “green aura,” persecution, heaven, and her belief that she and Sky needed to die. The legal question, however, was not simply whether Middlebrooks had a mental illness. The jury had to determine whether she met Georgia's legal standard for insanity at the time she killed Sky specifically, whether she lacked the capacity to distinguish right from wrong in relation to what she was doing. The jury rejected the insanity defense.

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Justice for Sky

Marina Middlebrooks was indicted for malice murder, felony murder predicated on aggravated assault, and first degree cruelty to children. In February 2016, a Richmond County jury found her guilty on all three counts. On February 29, 2016, Middlebrooks was sentenced to: Life in prison without the possibility of parole for Sky's murder, plus 20 years in prison for first-degree cruelty to children.

Person convicted: Marina Mae Middlebrooks
Relationship to Sky: Mother
Conviction: Murder and first-degree cruelty to children
Sentence: Life without parole plus 20 years

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Middlebrooks later sought a new trial. That request was denied, and she appealed her convictions to the Georgia Supreme Court. On February 21, 2023—nearly ten years after Sky's death the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed Middlebrooks' convictions. So unlike some of these older Angels where we're still trying to determine what ultimately happened in court, Sky's justice section can be brought completely up to date through 2023.

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Forever Remembered

Sky's name now appears in police reports, medical testimony, criminal proceedings, and a Georgia Supreme Court decision. Those records preserve in terrible detail how her life ended.

But Sky was not a court case. She was a two year old little girl. She was far too young to understand the beliefs that surrounded her death, far too young to protect herself, and completely dependent upon the adult responsible for her safety. The details of what happened to Sky deserve to be told truthfully. Her wounds should not be minimized, and neither should the terror and violence inflicted upon such a small child. But those wounds are not Sky's identity.  Her name was Sky Lyric Allen.

There should have been years of memories attached to that name instead of a Supreme Court case.

Abuse Angels remembers Sky, tells the truth about what happened to her, and makes certain that behind every discussion of a conviction, an insanity defense, or a sentence, the little girl at the center of it all is never forgotten.