Deborah Albin appeared at the Benton County Courthouse Friday and described a grief she said would never leave her.
“My grief is like a wide gaping hole that can never completely be filled,” Albin told the court. “There is a heaviness that weighs on me like the ghost memory of holding my girl closely.”
Shortly after, Judge Matthew Donohue sentenced Albin to 10 years in prison for the 2023 death of her 2-month-old daughter, Opal Noelle Oaks.
A Benton County jury convicted Albin in June of first-degree manslaughter and two counts of first-degree criminal mistreatment. Prosecutors said Albin failed to get Opal medical care despite mounting signs the infant was seriously injured. Albin’s attorneys countered that she did everything she could for her daughter while trapped in an abusive relationship with the baby’s father, who is awaiting trial of his own next year.
The case has turned, in large part, on a question that runs through many child welfare tragedies: what a parent could reasonably have done, and known, while allegedly being abused herself.
A pattern of injuries
An autopsy found Opal had suffered 18 rib fractures in various stages of healing, along with bruising on her back and head, acute and chronic pneumonia, and acute methamphetamine toxicity. She died in February 2023 from complications tied to the fractures, which led to an infection.
Court filings allege the baby’s father, Andrew Levi Oaks, told a cellmate that he squeezed his daughter until she stopped crying on four separate occasions — including the day she died.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Matthew Ipson told the court Opal’s death was preventable. He said Albin disregarded warning signs about her daughter’s deteriorating health and rejected the defense’s argument that she had been unable to escape her alleged abuser.
“Miss Albin knew what was happening,” Ipson said. “She knew about Opal’s condition, and she didn’t provide the care that this vulnerable 2-month-old infant needed.”
Prosecutors pointed to a wellness check roughly 10 days before Opal’s death, at which Albin did not raise concerns about the baby’s health or disclose any abuse — an omission that, prosecutors argued, cost the infant a chance at intervention through additional medical screening or a formal abuse investigation.
The day Opal died
According to court records, Opal was bloated and gassy the day she died. Albin tried repeatedly to reach Oaks by phone and text so he could help get the baby to a hospital. When he didn’t respond, she called his mother, who agreed to drive them. Opal stopped breathing before the grandmother arrived.
The grandmother told Albin to call 911. She did, but it was too late. Responding officers and paramedics attempted CPR without success, and Opal was rushed to Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis, where she died.
“I’m not alone”
In her statement to the court, Albin described herself as a survivor of domestic abuse who felt trapped, isolated and ashamed throughout her relationship with Oaks.
“I’ve learned now that I’m a domestic abuse survivor, and I’m not alone,” she said.
She also spoke directly about her daughter, describing the roles Opal filled in the lives of the people who loved her.
Several of Albin’s supporters gave statements on her behalf during Friday’s hearing.
Oaks, who prosecutors and Albin’s defense both allege was responsible for Opal’s injuries, has not yet stood trial. His case is scheduled for next year.
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