Mom, Boyfriend Get Life Without Parole In Child's Beating Death

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Two convicted child murderers will spend the rest of their lives behind bars.

Bartow County Superior Court Judge Carey T. Nelson on Tuesday sentenced both Brandy Ann Boyd and Austin Levi Payne to life in prison without parole for their roles in the beating death of Boyd’s daughter, Journey Ann Cowart.

The defendants in May were each convicted by a jury on 15 counts: six counts of felony murder, five counts of cruelty to children in the first degree, three counts of aggravated battery and one count of battery.

The jury found both Payne and Boyd not guilty on four counts of malice murder. Additionally, Boyd was found not guilty on two counts of cruelty to children while Payne was found not guilty on three counts of cruelty to children.

• RELATED: ‘Journey’s Voice Has Been Heard’: Mom, Boyfriend Convicted in Baby’s Death

Journey Ann Cowart died at Cartersville Medical Center on Jan. 21, 2014, after she was taken to the emergency room because she was not breathing.

Bartow County Sheriff Clark Millsap previously told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Journey was beaten to death, with “a fractured skull, blunt force trauma to the stomach.” He also said there was evidence of previous abuse.

The pair were initially charged with first-degree cruelty to children and aggravated battery, but the charges were upgraded after an autopsy revealed the extent of Journey’s injuries.

A Bartow County grand jury in September indicted both Payne and Boyd on 22 counts, including malice murder, felony murder, cruelty to children in the first degree, aggravated battery and battery.

They were arraigned last November and entered not guilty pleas to the charges. In a strange twist, Blake Cowart, the father of Journey Ann Cowart, was found dead in the Etowah River in May 2013 after he had been missing for more than a month.

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Photo: Austin Levi Payne and Brandy Ann Boyd. Credit: Bartow County Sheriff’s Office