A Texas appeals court, yet again, has reversed the murder conviction of a Waco daycare owner in the death of a four-month-old baby, setting up the possibility of her release from prison and to stand trial for a third time.
On May 6, 2026, the Seventh Court of Appeals in Amarillo reversed Marian Fraser’s murder conviction and remanded the case to the 19th District Court in McLennan County for further proceedings.
In September of last year, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals found that evidence admitted at trial was obtained illegally by the police. The case was then remanded to the Seventh Court of Appeals to decide whether that improperly seized evidence harmed the defendant. That same court concluded that it did, and sent the case back to the trial court.
“Minutes after the jury’s verdict three years ago, I explained that we had excellent grounds for appeal,” said Defense Attorney Christy Jack, who tried the case with attorney Letty Martinez. “I said I wouldn’t be surprised if we weren’t back for Round 3. And here we are — as predicted.”
The case stems from the March 4, 2013, death of four-month-old Clara Felton at Fraser’s in-home Waco daycare, Spoiled Rotten. Fraser was first convicted in 2015 and sentenced to 50 years in prison.
In 2017, the Amarillo Court of Appeals reversed that conviction, holding that her conduct did not meet the statutory definition of felony murder. After serving two years in prison, Fraser was released on an appeal bond.
Fraser was retried in 2023, convicted of felony murder, and again sentenced to 50 years in prison.
Her appeal was handled by attorney Lisa Mullen — a highly respected appellate attorney across Texas.
In 2024, the Amarillo court affirmed Fraser’s second conviction. However, in 2025, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals held that a search warrant for Fraser’s electronic devices lacked a sufficient connection to the alleged offense and remanded the case for a constitutional harm analysis.
With the May 6th opinion, Fraser’s second conviction is now vacated, and the case returns to the trial court. Prosecutors must now determine whether to pursue a third trial, taking into account the higher courts’ findings.
Timeline of State of Texas v. Marian Fraser
March 4, 2013 — Four-month-old Clara Felton is found unresponsive during nap time at Spoiled Rotten day care in Waco. She is pronounced dead at Providence Hospital at 4:12 p.m. That evening, Detective Mike Alston (Waco PD) and Elaine Gatewood (Texas DFPS Child Care Licensing) inspect the day care. Spoiled Rotten is ordered closed for the remainder of the week.
March 5, 2013 — Clara Felton is autopsied in Dallas.
March 11, 2013 — Spoiled Rotten reopens after passing inspections.
Spring 2013 — Detective Alston interviews Fraser at police headquarters. McLennan County DA Abel Reyna recuses his office because of his close friendship with the Feltons; the case was assigned to Tarrant County prosecutors.
August 7–8, 2013 — Fraser is charged with injury to a child causing death (a first-degree felony) and surrenders to police.
January 2014 — Fraser is indicted on a charge of felony murder.
May 18–21, 2015 (First Trial) — Trial begins in McLennan County. The state calls witnesses over four days; the defense (Gerald Villarrial) presents five witnesses in one afternoon, including Fraser herself. The jury deliberates less than 30 minutes, convicts Fraser of felony murder, and sentences her to 50 years in prison.
2017 — Seventh Court of Appeals (Amarillo) — Fraser I — Fraser v. State, 523 S.W.3d 320. Reverses Fraser’s conviction, holding her conduct did not meet the statutory definition of felony murder. After two years incarcerated, Fraser is released on a $50,000 bond pending the state’s appeal.
2019 — Texas Court of Criminal Appeals — 583 S.W.3d 564. In an 8–1 decision, reverses the Amarillo court and reinstates the felony murder framework, but signals (in a footnote) concerns about the trial court’s jury instructions. Case is remanded.
2019 — Seventh Court of Appeals (Amarillo) — Fraser II — 593 S.W.3d 883. On remand, rules the trial court’s jury instructions were slanted in favor of the state and reverses the conviction on that basis. The Court of Criminal Appeals declines to intervene. Fraser is released, but eligible to be retried.
October 2020 — McLennan County DA Barry Johnson announces the office will retry Fraser on the same felony murder charge. New defense team: Christy Jack and Letty Martinez of Varghese Summersett (Fort Worth).
April 2023 — Texas Forensic Science Commission — Releases a scathing report on Ernest Lykissa and ExperTox, who was responsible for testing hair samples of children who attended Spoiled Rotten Daycare. Lykissa agrees to stop practicing forensic analysis in Texas and admits the original hair samples were destroyed. Prosecutors agree not to use the ExperTox results at the second trial, though Judge David Hodges allows the Spoiled Rotten parents to testify so long as they don’t reference the tests.
March 2023 (Second Trial) — After lengthy jury selection from a pool of about 350, the trial proceeds over seven days in McLennan County. A juror is caught following a reporter on social media; the defense’s mistrial motion is denied and the juror is replaced. The jury again convicts Fraser of felony murder and again sentences her to 50 years.
October 1, 2024 — Seventh Court of Appeals (Amarillo) — Fraser III (initial) — 2024 Tex. App. LEXIS 7068. Affirms Fraser’s conviction and sentence, rejecting both her suppression challenge and (on procedural grounds) her extraneous-offense objections.
June 4, 2025 — Texas Court of Criminal Appeals oral argument — Judges express skepticism toward the state’s position, particularly on whether giving Benadryl constitutes an “act clearly dangerous to human life.”
September 2025 — Texas Court of Criminal Appeals — Fraser III — 726 S.W.3d 253. Holds that the probable-cause affidavits for both warrants (to seize and to search Fraser’s electronic devices) lacked a sufficient nexus between the offense and the devices, resting only on the affiant’s personal beliefs and suspicion. Reverses in part and remands to Amarillo to determine (1) whether the suppression error caused constitutional harm under Tex. R. App. P. 44.2(a) and (2) the merits of the extraneous-offense objections if necessary.
May 6, 2026 — Seventh Court of Appeals (Amarillo) — Opinion on Remand — In a memorandum opinion by Justice Yarbrough (joined by Chief Justice Parker and Justice Doss), the court reverses Fraser’s conviction and remands to the trial court. Key findings:
- The nature of the error — admission of illegally seized evidence from Fraser’s electronic devices — was “serious.”
- The state “placed great emphasis” on the suppressed evidence, displaying the text messages as enlarged posters, previewing them in opening statements, calling Logan to testify cumulatively about them, and returning to them repeatedly through both guilt/innocence and punishment closings (including framing the messages as Fraser “build[ing] her defense . . . as any guilty person would do”).
- Most tellingly on weight: out of approximately 130 exhibits admitted over a multi-week trial, the only exhibit the jury asked to review during deliberations was the text exchange between Fraser and her daughter Logan — and the jury returned a guilty verdict less than 90 minutes later.
- The court rejected the state’s Leday argument (that no objection was made to similar evidence at trial), citing Thomas v. State — Fraser preserved error through her motion to suppress and did not unambiguously abandon that claim.
- The court rejected the state’s reliance on Motilla and overwhelming-evidence arguments, noting weight of evidence is only one factor and not dispositive.
- Holding: the state failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the error did not contribute to the conviction or punishment. The suppression issue’s resolution made the extraneous-offense question unnecessary to address.
Current posture — Fraser’s second conviction is vacated. The case returns to the 19th District Court in McLennan County. The McLennan County DA’s office must now decide whether to attempt a third trial. Prosecutor William Hix previously told Texas Monthly he would “try it a hundred times.”
