Cobb County mother gets life in prison in toddler's overdose death

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A local mother will spend the rest of her life behind bars for the death of her disabled 2-year-old son.

Erica White killed her child with a lethal dose of codeine in November 2014.

Prosecutors called it a case of "poisoning for profit," killing 2-year-old Tyrael McFall for a $50,000 life insurance policy.

The jury found White guilty Monday of 16 counts of murder and financial gain.

White’s mother, Laura Cramer, asked the judge for leniency for her daughter.

"She does not deserve to lose all of her life," Cramer said.

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But Cobb Superior Court Judge Mary Staley Clark said the evidence “speaks for itself,” before granting the state’s request that White be sentenced to the maximum penalty allowed by law, which in this case is life without parole plus 83 years in prison, to run consecutively.

“The greed never stopped,” the judge said, lamenting White’s “evil and corrupt” actions before, during and after the child’s death.

Michael Schullerman, White's boyfriend, was also charged in the death of the child.

The trial lasted for two weeks. Forty-eight witnesses testified in custody since May 2015. White waved to her mother and exited the courtroom.

At just two months old, Tyrael was left blind and brain damaged when his father beat him. He is currently in prison.

Cox Media Group