Left to right: Deborah Albin, Andrew Oaks (Benton County Sheriff's Office).
An Oregon mother is on trial for allegedly allowing her boyfriend to abuse and kill their 2-month-old daughter, with prosecutors saying she did nothing to stop him from "tossing her around like a rag doll" until she died with 18 rib fractures and other injuries.
Deborah Albin, who was 27 at the time, is accused of letting her significant other, Andrew Oaks, use drugs around their baby, Opal Oaks, while beating and roughing up the child regularly until she died in February 2023. Prosecutors say Oaks told a cellmate he squeezed his daughter until she didn't cry anymore on the day Opal died and three other occasions.
Albin's defense team says she was a victim herself and was also abused by Oaks, according to The Oregonian and the Oregon Capital Chronicle, which have been covering Albin's trial since it began on May 18. She is facing charges of criminal mistreatment and manslaughter for allegedly not contacting police and withholding needed medical care.
"Opal had no voice ever in her life," Benton County prosecutor Matthew Ipson told the jury last week. "She was completely vulnerable. And Miss Albin was aware that she was being physically abused, and was further aware of drug use that was happening … and (she) chose not to protect Opal."
Ipson added, "She chose her significant other … over Opal."
Police and prosecutors say Albin and Oaks had a rocky and "unstable" relationship that worsened over time due to Oaks' "rampant drug use" around Opal and other issues, The Oregonian reports. Acute methamphetamine toxicity was listed in Opal's autopsy as a significant condition contributing to her death, along with blunt force trauma and complications from her rib fractures.
"There was constant bickering, there were fights, there were insults, there were accusations that were hurled back and forth between each other," Ipson said. "It was in that home that Opal was abused physically. It was in that home where Opal was exposed to methamphetamine, and it was in that home where Opal was exposed to the chaos of her parents' unstable relationship from day one."
On the day Opal died, Albin allegedly told police that she noticed her child was bloated and gassy. Oaks couldn't be reached by phone, so Albin called his mother, who is a registered nurse, rather than police, according to prosecutors. The mom instructed her to call 911, which Albin then did.
Prosecutors say Albin saw Oaks throw Opal and toss the baby around on multiple occasions. Albin allegedly told Oaks she wanted him "gone" but never notified the police to try to do something, per prosecutors.
On the day before Opal died, Oaks and Albin sent videos to each other of Opal showing warning signs of being unwell and discussed what respiratory syncytial virus looks like and sounds like in babies, The Oregonian reports.
"Defendant's web history leading up to Opal's death is replete with searches about sick and gassy babies," a court document filed by the prosecution states. "Rather than seek any medical care, defendant did nothing until Opal stopped breathing."
Albin claimed that she felt unsafe around Oaks, but prosecutors say she remained in touch with him in violation of a no-contact order.
"[Oaks] stated that he was going to hell for what he did to the baby," a court document alleges, according to the Oregonian.
Oaks is charged with second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter and first-degree criminal mistreatment in connection with the baby's death. He does not have a trial date set yet.
Albin faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted.
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