Judge to mom who killed her 4-year-old daughter: 'I hope they never let you out'

Eight years ago, Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Robert Ruehlman sentenced Britney Mayes to six months in prison for child abuse.

Mayes, whose name then was Britney Roll, had fractured her infant daughter's skull in a bathtub. The girl, Averylee Hobbs, was three weeks old at the time.

On Monday, Mayes was again in Ruehlman's courtroom. The 27-year-old admitted killing Averylee in 2016 – a year after regaining custody of the girl.

"The system really let this child down," Ruehlman said. "This defendant should never have had the opportunity to murder this little girl."

Mayes pleaded guilty to aggravated murder. As part of an agreement with prosecutors, she was sentenced to life in prison with parole eligibility after 20 years.

Ruehlman, however, said he believed it is unlikely Mayes will be granted parole.

"I hope they never let you out," Ruehlman said. "Ever."

The evening of July 29, 2016, Mayes, who lived in West Price Hill, called 911, seeking help for Averylee. She died three days later, and Assistant Prosecutor David Prem said the county coroner determined the 4-year-old girl's injuries were not accidental, as Mayes "tried to indicate to police."

Prem said Averylee suffered severe blunt-force injuries to her head, which caused bleeding that caused her death.

Flanked by her attorneys, Mayes told Ruehlman she was "sorry" for her actions.

"It just really wasn't what it seemed," she said. "I did love my daughter. I love all my children."

Mayes is the mother of two other children. At the time of Averylee's death, she was nearly eight months pregnant. She gave birth in jail while awaiting trial. That child, a boy, was taken by the state. Mayes also is the mother of a girl who is now about 10, but she lost custody.

Averylee had been the subject of a custody battle that began when she was an infant, after Mayes was accused in 2011 of fracturing her skull in a bathtub.

All four of Averylee's biological grandparents filed separate petitions in 2012 seeking custody.

Mayes, whose name was then Britney Roll, pleaded guilty in February of that year to a child endangerment charge and was sentenced to six months in prison.

Multiple court hearings were held, including a child custody trial. In July 2014, a Hamilton County Juvenile Court magistrate awarded custody of Averylee to Mayes, finding that she had successfully completed numerous programs including mental health counseling and that it was in the child’s “best interests” to be raised by her mother.

The magistrate's decision was upheld by a juvenile court judge.

Averylee's paternal grandmother, Tammy Risen, said in an interview that she didn't blame either the magistrate or the judge. She said they simply followed the recommendation of social workers and the guardian ad litem.

The social workers and guardian ad litem, Risen said, "saw the abuse, firsthand."

"One, they ignored it," she said. "And two, they found any excuse they could to justify awarding custody to the mother."