1999 July 3 News Article – Pathologist: McNeil girl was molested

The autopsy showed possible signed of sexual abuse. Despite there being absolutely no physical evidence to show Barton had perpetrated such heinous and immoral acts against his very own daughter, prosecutors used this against him. With no charges ever being leveled against Barton relative to this kind of criminal misconduct. So great was this accusation that is clearly impacted his final verdict: 100-year sentence which was the maximum that could be imposed at his later 2002 re-sentencing hearing with Barton being re-sentenced by the same judge who gave him lifetime imprisonment with no chance for parole when sentenced. So imagine if you can not only waking up to find your beautiful daughter lifeless with one eye partially open and dead. But then being charged for her murder and being successfully convicted despite your protestations that your psychotic ex-girlfriend was the one who had to have murdered her. With you being the one that first summoned police to return as you discovered evidence such as the slits in the window screen that led you to believe she had been murdered in the first place. But wait, it gets worse! Now you must enter a Maximum Security Prison also with the added albatross that in all of the local newspapers prosecutors and the pathologist believed that the 3-year old defenseless victim was not only molested, but was molested by her father. Never mind the facts that Christina was also equally in the care and sole custody of her mother Tita McNeil and her circle of friends and workers at the Day Care Center where Christina attended. Despite all of this, in the 65-page Petition filed before the court on February 23, 2021 seeking a re-trial, there is a new body of evidence concerning the death of children whereupon a nationally recognized expert in the field of sexual abuse has stated that in her professional opinion, Christina McNeil was not molested at all. Yet it was used to promote the State’s motive as to why Barton would murder his daughter (as she was at the age where she was beginning to “talk” and would therefore be at an age to tell people what Daddy was doing to her). So the end note here is that prosecutors have such latitude and discretion that they don’t even have to formally charge and convict someone but can introduce a completely unproven theory that you molested your daughter and that this is the reason you murdered her. It can’t get worse than this folks. The Count of Monte Cristo living in the iron mask had it easy compared to Barton McNeil!

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