Woodstock Man Convicted in Child's Murder

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A Cherokee County trial jury has convicted the former boyfriend of a woman whose child was found unresponsive at their home and subsequently died at an Atlanta hospital.

The jury on Friday, May 1 convicted Michael John Naples, 32, on one count of felony murder and two counts each of aggravated battery, aggravated assault and cruelty to children in the first degree in the death of 17-month-old Kaylee Rayne Elise Johnson, who passed away in October 2012.

Kaylee’s mother, Jaimie Nakail Whitney Beck, pleaded guilty to two counts of cruelty to children in the second degree and one count of making false statements in December 2014. She was sentenced to 15 years, five of which she has to serve in the state penal system and the rest on probation.

Beck and Naples were both originally arrested and charged with the murder of Kaylee, who was found unresponsive at their home on Red Bird Way in unincorporated Woodstock.

Beck told deputies with the Cherokee Sheriff’s Office she woke up to get a glass of water and discovered her child unresponsive at the bottom of the basement stairs.

Kaylee was transported to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite where she died from her injuries just two days later.

Final lab results from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation concluded the cause of death was “blunt force trauma to the head” and classified the death as a homicide. Detectives with the sheriff’s office were able to determine Kaylee’s injuries were not consistent with those of a child who fell down the stairs.

Beck was initially indicted on two counts each of felony murder, cruelty to children in the first degree, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, making a false statement and one count of cruelty to children in the second degree.

Naples was indicted on the same charges he was convicted on. Sentencing for the defendant has not been scheduled.

What should you read next?

• Mom Charged in Baby’s Death Pleads Guilty To Lesser Offenses
• Investigation Into Baby’s Death Continues
• Cherokee Sheriff’s Office Investigates Death Of Baby
• Bartow Mother Arrested in Child’s Death
• Mother, Boyfriend Indicted in Baby Death

Photo: Michael John Naples. Credit: Cherokee Sheriff’s Office