MORGAN COUNTY, Mo. — For the murder of three-year-old Blake Litton, Thomas J. Presley will spend the rest of his life in prison.
At 1 p.m. on March 27, 2015, in the Morgan County Courthouse, Presiding Judge Kenneth Hayden handed down a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole to Thomas J. Presley for the crime of Murder in the 1st Degree in the death of three-year old Blake Litton. Litton was murdered on February 16, 2012.
Standing beside his Attorney, Karie Comstock, in the Circuit Court of Morgan County, Presley fully admitted his actions and expressed remorse to the family and all those affected by those actions. Presley stated he would gladly trade his life for that of Blake Litton if possible.
The facts of the case are that Thomas Presley repeatedly struck and kicked the three-year old child of his then-girlfriend, Jamie Litton. Testimony at trial showed that Presley texted Blake’s mother at work stating he “lost it” and Blake was “in bad shape.” Jamie advised Presley to take Blake to the hospital, but Presley did not because he believed he would go to prison for this, according Jamie’s later statements to investigators. Presley instead took the child to Jamie’s place of employment. The mother let Presley take Blake away without any medical assessment or treatment at that time. Blake then attempted to fake a pedestrian accident to explain the child's injuries.
Blake’s mother, Jamie Litton, remains in jail awaiting trial on murder charges for her son's death. Investigators believed Blake was alive when Presley took the child to Jamie’s workplace. Evidence indicated prior and ongoing abuse of Blake and his sister during Presley’s time in the Litton home.
Those in the courtroom included Paul Litton, paternal grandfather of Blake and Diana Litton, paternal grandmother of Blake. Both Mr. and Mrs. Litton read letters they had written to the court prior to sentencing. Both showed tremendous poise as they made emotional statements about the impact of this crime on themselves.
Judge Hayden carefully explained the process to the defendant, asking if he understood each of his rights to appeal. The defendant stated he understood and his attorney had explained his options to him. When the judge asked if the defendant believed he had received effective counsel from his attorney, Presley stated he felt there were areas where his attorney did not do what he expected. The judge ruled there was no probable cause to find that Presley had ineffective counsel.
Presley has 90 days to file an appeal and told the judge he wanted a different appellate attorney. The court remanded Presley into the custody of the Sheriff’s office for transportation to the appropriate penal institution.
