Parole Again Denied in 2000 Child Abuse Death
On Friday, October 6, 2023, at a virtual hearing, TCDA prosecutors secured the denial of parole for Angela Thompson, age 64, in the 2000 child abuse death of her adopted daughter. The denial is for 5 years. Thompson is currently serving a life sentence at the California Institution for Women in Corona.
At the time of the crime, Thompson had 12 adopted children.
On September 7, 2000, Thompson was at an urgent care appointment when one of the children came in from the family car saying that the victim, a five-year-old girl, was not breathing. A staff member from the clinic rushed the girl to Sierra View Hospital in Porterville where doctors were unable to revive her. At the hospital, the victim had a 105-degree temperature and exhibited multiple signs of extreme child abuse including scarring consistent with restraining devices, burn scarring from hot liquid, multiple bone fractures and physical signs of severe sexual abuse.
Initially reluctant to cooperate with law enforcement out of fear of Thompson, two of the children came forward with information regarding rampant abuse. The children reported that on the day of the crime, Thompson ordered a 17-year-old to sit on the victim’s back during a 4 to 5-hour car ride from Travis Air Force Base to Porterville. The victim screamed and cried during the entirety of the trip and was denied water by Thompson.
The children’s statements and medical evidence led doctors to declare the cause of death as positional asphyxiation.
Further investigation revealed a harrowing pattern of abuse perpetrated by Thompson against her adopted children, some acts of which were given names. “Crying” meant putting a plastic bag over the child’s face. “Gurgled” meant force feeding in which Thompson would put on rubber gloves and force food down the children’s throats. She would do this when the children were not eating fast enough. “Plunging” meant putting the children in the bathtub with their face under a running faucet. “Poking” involved being poked on the hands, feet, underarms, mouth, gums, ear, or lips with a needle or safety pin. Much of the abuse consisted of spankings with belts or spoons or hitting the kneecaps with a rod.
Prior to the crime in late 1999, the victim was hospitalized for a skull fracture after an alleged fall from a bunk bed. In a later review, a neurosurgeon determined the injury had a high probability of infliction. At the child’s pre-adoption physical in 1999, no injuries were observed.
In October 2001, a jury convicted Thompson of second-degree murder, assault on a child likely to cause great bodily injury or death, and child abuse. The court sentenced her to 25 years-to-life in prison.
This was Thompson’s second hearing. The Office of the District Attorney regularly attends life parole hearings and a deputy district attorney argued against the inmate’s release.
Media inquiries can be directed to the Office of the District Attorney, County of Tulare Chief Deputy District Attorney Dave Alavezos (559) 636-5494