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Clay glanced at Macayla's mother, Miranda Carpenter, as she passed him in the courtroom Friday on her way to the witness stand.
He stared slightly down, expressionless, as Carpenter looked at him and called him a coward.
"You are such scum," she said, tearfully, eyes not wavering from Clay.
She then turned to Clay's public defender, Charles Hoskins.
"How you sleep at night, Mr. Hoskins, I don't know," she said.
Carpenter expressed frustration over the time and the amount of tax dollars it took to end the case that has been drawn out for six years with several continuances.
"It boggles my mind how the defendant has all the rights while the victim sits by helpless without a single right," she said. "There's nothing I can do to bring my sweet Macayla back. I just pray that God keeps her safe in his beautiful kingdom."
Carpenter plead with Judge Berkemeyer to give Clay the maximum sentence of four years rather than the three years that prosecutors agreed to.
Judge Berkemeyer didn't waiver from the agreement.
After sentencing, he addressed the court, calling the case a "really difficult situation."
He told Carpenter he was "happy and pleased" about everything she had to say to the court, adding that she has a great understanding of the situation.
Berkemeyer said he has great respect for the prosecutor's office, as well as the public defender, and is confident there was good reasoning behind the plea deal that was offered.
Berkemeyer told Clay that he's the only person who can do something positive with his life when he's released as a free man.
"You have to take credit for what you do," Berkemeyer said.
After Clay was led out of the courtroom, Carpenter approached Berkemeyer's bench.
"If you have power over anything like this again, do everything you can to not let another mom suffer like this," she said.
Berkemeyer replied that many times the decisions have been made before the issue gets to him and there's nothing he can do.
"I understand your frustration," he sad.
Background
It's the second time the Franklin County Prosecutor's Office offered Clay the three-year deal for involuntary manslaughter.
Prosecutor Bob Parks told The Missourian that since they would have no eyewitness to the murder, a conviction on that count would be very difficult.
Macayla's 4-year-old sister witnessed the death, according to Miranda, but the court ruled that her testimony would not be used because she was too young to be credible.
Circuit Court Judge Gael Wood, who was originally assigned to the case, refused to accept the plea deal and recused himself two weeks ago.
According to St. Clair Police Department records, officers responded to East Ridge Apartments at 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 1, 2003, in reference to a report of a small child not breathing.
Macayla was transported to St. Johns Mercy Hospital, Washington, where she was pronounced dead.
At the time of the incident, police say Clay was baby-sitting Macayla and her sister while Miranda was at work in Gerald.
Two days after Macayla's death, Clay was arrested and put into the custody of St. Louis authorities.
An autopsy later revealed the child died as a result of closed head trauma. Her death was classified as a homicide, records state.
