Sunbury woman says publicity led to her conviction; hearing today
Aug. 2—SUNBURY — A Sunbury woman convicted of lying to police in the Arabella Parker murder case will appear in court today after filing a motion for a new trial, claiming she should have had a change of venue because The Daily Item publicized her case, leading the public to believe she was guilty.
Christy Willis, 52, who was convicted by a jury in April, filed her second motion last week in Northumberland County Court through her attorney public defender William Cannon.
In the motion, Wills argues there were more than 12 articles written about her and some of them had information that was the product of police and prosecutorial officers, including information related to the brain surgeries received by the victim, according to the filing.
Willis was sentenced to 20 months to 17 years in state prison.
The Daily Item reported the case through court documents and interviews with the family of 3-year-old Arabella, who state police said in court documents and in court proceedings was beaten in October 2019, by Willis' son, Jahrid Burgess, 20, of Port Trevorton and the child's mother, Samatha Delcamp, 26, of Port Trevorton, who was charged as an accomplice.
Willis was convicted of providing false and misleading statements to state police about Arabella's death.
The hearing will be held in front of Judge Hugh Jones at 3 p.m. in Northumberland County Court.
