Celebrity Justice
Billy Bob's Daughter Charged in Death of Baby

Amanda Brumfield, Billy Bob ThorntonWe've learned the oldest daughter of Billy Bob Thornton has been charged with child neglect in the death of a 1-year-old she was babysitting.

Amanda Brumfield told cops the child died in October after falling from her playpen, but a spokesman for the Ocoee Police Department said Amanda Brumfield's story didn't add up.

An autopsy determined the child suffered a fractured skull and a subdural hematoma due to blunt trauma.

Brumfield told police that after the baby had fallen, she discovered her tongue bleeding, so Brumfield cleaned it with a paper towel. She then says she began playing with the child, feeding her bananas and fruit snacks, and said she was "happy" and playful.

Brumfield then said she laid the child on the couch next to her and fell asleep. She says was awoken sometime later by the phone and decided to take the child back to the playpen. When she lifted her, Brumfield told cops she discovered her body was limp.

According to police, the call for help didn't come until two and a half hours after the original fall.

Brumfield is Thornton's child with his first wife, Melissa Gatlin.

UPDATE -- A rep for Thornton sent TMZ this statement: "Mr. Thornton is estranged from Amanda and has had no contact with her for quite some time, however when informed about this situation he commented that, 'Anytime a baby's life is lost is an unimaginable tragedy and my heart goes out to the baby's family and loved ones.'"



Tags: amanda brumfield, AmandaBrumfield, billy bob thornton, BillyBobThornton, florida, ocoee

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(Page 1 of 12) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Most Recent | Next 15 Comments

1. Lets see how this plays out.

Posted at 1:10PM on May 31st 2009 by Cleveland-West_Side

2. There's something just not right about those Thorntons, Poor litte child. :(
www.cubic-hell.com

Posted at 1:12PM on May 31st 2009 by Cubic-Hell.com

3. Billy Bob's White Trash roots coming out. Lock her up.

Posted at 1:12PM on May 31st 2009 by superchunk

4. Didn't call for help for two and half hours, tell you she could have careless about this child's welfare. She just join the Casey Anthony, Susan Smith and all the other women who kill kids and act like it not their fault.

Posted at 1:23PM on May 31st 2009 by Lenn K.

5. Blunt force trauma to the head - as we have seen in the media, with head trauma, the victim can look fine for a time, then deteriorate as the brain swells over the next hour or two. So even if she did not call 911 right away, it is plausible that she thought the kid was OK.. Kids fall all the time and hit their heads at least a couple of times in their childhood.. on the coffee table.. on the floor.... they got big heads that hit things, I'm telling ya... BUT if the story is saying that the police think "her story did not add up" then obviously they are seeing something we don't know of yet. Their suspicion makes me wonder what's up.

Posted at 1:24PM on May 31st 2009 by SallyLan

6. Shes a Puke pile of crap just like her sperm doner!

Posted at 1:38PM on May 31st 2009 by not a fan

7. LOOKS LIKE HIM

Posted at 11:57PM on May 31st 2009 by suburbandrudgery

8. Sounds like child neglect or abuse to me. I would be worried if the kid's tongue was bleeding. She should've at least called the parents or called for help.

Posted at 1:48PM on May 31st 2009 by bnrnp

9. Obviously there may be more to the story, but seriously, if you called 911 every time a one year old fell and got a cut, there'd be round the clock baby calls in every jurisdiction in the country. SallyLan is correct; as the Natasha Richardson death shows, sometimes you don't realize how serious a head injury is till it's too late. Obviously, since she's being charged with neglect rather than murder, this wasn't a case of intentionally harming anybody.

Posted at 1:57PM on May 31st 2009 by RobN

10. Well, look at one kind of father she has!!! Still, they need to kill her.

Posted at 1:59PM on May 31st 2009 by imjustsayin

11. Every time I bite my tongue I think skull fracture, I don't know about you..

Posted at 2:02PM on May 31st 2009 by wat?

12. I doubt this girl did it on purpose. She just doesn't know how to take care of kids. If she fed the child bananas afterward she probably thought everything was ok. Honestly i didn't know till natasha richardson how important getting checked out after hitting your head was. I doubt this girl knew better, it just shows you don't leave your kid with just anyone. I don't consider this girl a murderer.

Posted at 2:09PM on May 31st 2009 by Duh

13. Kids fall all the time, they run all the time, they bump into the wall, they fall off the couch, they trip over everything, kids are accidents waiting to happen, they need constant watching.

She probably thought the kid was alright.

If you call 911 everytime a kid falls and bumps his/her head, you would be arrested for tying up the 911 lines.

Posted at 2:25PM on May 31st 2009 by KIDS FALL AND BUMP ALL THE TIME PEOPLE

14. they are both White TRASH

Posted at 2:26PM on May 31st 2009 by cbc

15. Who the hell feeds a 1 year old baby fruit snacks..they clearly say they are a choking hazard.
I'm glad she was charged with murder, her story obviously is not true. Poor parents of that
innocent little baby.

Posted at 2:41PM on May 31st 2009 by a real mommy

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