Jury seated, Delcamp trial set to begin at 9:15 a.m. today
May 10—SUNBURY — It took nearly six hours but a jury of eight women and four men are seated to hear the case against Samantha Delcamp, who is charged as an accomplice to murder for the 2019 beating death of 3-year-old Arabella Parker.
Northumberland County Judge Paige Rosini presided over the jury selection. The trial is set to begin at 9:15 a.m. Tuesday inside the Northumberland County Courthouse with President Judge Charles Saylor presiding over the case.
Delcamp, 26, of Trevorton, is accused of being an accomplice to the murder of her child, Arabella Parker.
State police said Parker was beaten so badly that part of her brain was removed after an October 2019 incident in Delcamp's and her then-boyfriend Jahrid Burgess' Trevorton home.
Parker died a few weeks later.
On Monday, Delcamp sat with her attorney, public defender, Michael O'Donnell, who will face off with Northumberland County District Attorney Tony Matulewicz, who is prosecuting the case.
Delcamp took notes and helped O'Donnell navigate through the jury pool of 34 Northumberland County residents during jury selection.
Delcamp continues to claim she loved her daughter but was scared for her life because of the alleged abuse she took from Burgess.
Matulewicz insisted he would take Delcamp to trial and said he would not offer her any plea deals even though she testified against Burgess, 22, last fall. He was sentenced to 24-50 years in January.
The trial is expected to be a replica of the Burgess trial as Northumberland County's Children & Youth agencies caseworkers and supervisors are set to testify.
Burgess testified on his own behalf and blamed Delcamp for her part in the death. Delcamp said she was a beaten woman and feared for her life and could not leave Burgess.
Delcamp said Burgess would hit her and Arabella, pour soda on them, and make them march down a hallway if they didn't obey his orders.
Through her attorney, Delcamp has filed several motions in the years leading up to the trial asking the court to consider her "battered woman syndrome" in the case.
Arresting trooper Brian Siebert said Delcamp knew about the abuse and did not stop it or report it to authorities.
O'Donnell asked potential jurors questions, including asking if anyone was a victim or knew a victim of domestic abuse. Matulewicz asked the jurors if anyone had any issues seeing graphic photos of a child and hearing testimony from doctors who performed surgery on Parker.
Jurors nodded their heads and were often called to a sidebar with O'Donnell, Matulewicz and Rosini to iron out any potential conflicts. In the end, the eight women and four men were chosen.
It is not known if Delcamp will take the stand in her own defense but in the Burgess and Willis trial, she testified Burgess would make her remain in an attic when they lived in Sunbury when Children and Youth officials arrived.
The trial is scheduled for three days.
