PARENTS GET LIFE IN FIRE DEATH OF BABY

Illegal Drug Lab Set Blaze That Killed 1-Year-Old

Ringgold --- The parents of a year-old baby who died after a
methamphetamine lab fire burned down their northwest Georgia house were
found guilty of felony murder Tuesday and sentenced to life in prison.

Chris Hicks, 33, and Suzzett Calloway, 30, were convicted of felony murder
in the death of their baby, Chelton Hicks, of manufacturing methamphetamine
and of possession with intent to distribute the powerful, illegal
stimulant. A jury deliberated for about five hours Tuesday, following a
week of testimony in the case, before finding them guilty.

"Chelton lost his life as a result of your desire to manufacture
methamphetamine," Catoosa County Superior Court Judge William Ralph Hill
told the defendants before he sentenced them.

Immediately after court, defense lawyers said Hicks and Calloway will appeal.

Prosecutors said the parents set their house on fire while making the drug
and that their actions led to the death of Chelton, who was gravely injured
and later died in foster care.

Catoosa County District Attorney Herbert "Buzz" Franklin said he hopes the
verdict and life sentences will "send a message to a lot of parents out
there who are manufacturing methamphetamine. It has hurt a lot of children."

Standing before the judge, the couple showed no emotion as he sentenced
them. For hours, they had awaited the verdict, sitting across from each
other at the defense table, holding hands, speaking softly and praying.

As Calloway was handcuffed and put into leg irons to leave the courtroom,
she began to weep.

"They killed their child by their own actions," Franklin had told the jury
Monday, during closing statements.

Defense lawyers argued unsuccessfully that the fire was caused by a
sparking wall heater and that the state used "a bunch of liars" as key
witnesses.

In the fire, on Feb. 17, 2001, Chelton, then four days shy of his first
birthday, was burned over one-third of his body. The couple's other child,
Christian, escaped the fire and was put into foster care, where he remains.
Chelton, whom Hicks rescued through a window, was hospitalized for months,
undergoing a tracheotomy and numerous skin grafts on his face, chest, arms
and hands. He died June 16, 2001.

"We're not saying they intentionally killed their child," said Franklin,
the district attorney.

The prosecutor said he hopes the sentences will "send a message to a lot of
parents out there who are manufacturing methamphetamine."