Mother declared competent to stand trial for daughter’s death

Following a jury trial Thursday, a woman accused of allowing her 3-year-old daughter to die from a 17-pound tumor in January 2019 was found competent to stand trial.

Bonnie Beth Mills-Lilly, 47, was found competent following Thursday’s trial requested by her lawyers in Comanche County Special District Judge Susan Zwaan’s court to stand trial for a felony charge of first-degree manslaughter, records indicate. The crime is punishable by no less than four years in prison.

The six jurors made their decision in a short time following the presentation by Lilly’s lawyer. She has been previously declared incompetent and has been housed at least twice in mental institutions according to testimony. However, no evidence of erratic behavior was provided during Thursday’s trial.

Bonnie Beth Mills-Lilly and her husband Henry Clarence Lilly III, 55, were charged in January 2019 for not providing medical care to their daughter, “Baby Beth,” which led to her death, according to the charges.

According to the State Medical Examiner’s autopsy report, Bonnie Beth Lilly died Jan. 3, 2019, as a result of rhabdomyosarcoma. Her manner of death was identified as natural. The report states the 17-pound tumor comprised half the girl’s body weight.

Rhabdomyosarcoma is a type of cancer of soft tissue (such as muscle), connective tissue (such as tendon or cartilage), or bone. Its symptoms include: a persistent lump or swelling in parts of the body; bulging of the eye or a swollen eyelid, headache and nausea, trouble urinating or having bowel movements, blood in the urine, and bleeding from the nose, throat, vagina or rectum.

The Comanche County Sheriff’s Office received a call on Jan. 3, 2019, about the girl being unconscious but breathing at a camper home near Lake Lawtonka. Responders found her and six other children living with her parents, the Lillys, in a camper. The girl was taken to a local hospital where she died.

The parents were arrested and their other children placed into DHS custody. They are now living with relatives.

Following trial in February, Henry Lilly was found guilty by a jury of first-degree manslaughter and child abuse. The jury recommended he serve five years in prison for the manslaughter count and another 13 years for the charge of child abuse.

District. Attorney Kyle Cabelka said he plans to put Bonnie Beth Mills-Lilly on trial during the February 2025 jury trial docket.