Couple Arrested For Manslaughter After Cancer-Stricken Child With 17-Pound Tumor Dies

The Oklahoma parents each face at least four years in prison if found guilty.

January 14, 2019

Beth Mills-Lilly and Henry Clarence Lilly III [Comanche County Sheriff’s Department]

By: Aaron Rasmussen

LAWTON, OK — The parents of an Oklahoma toddler are behind bars after police claimed they failed to take adequate measures to save their daughter’s life.

According to The Lawton Constitution, the Comanche County Sheriff’s Office responded to a January 3 call about an unconscious child at the camper home of Henry Clarence Lilly III, 49, and Bonnie Beth Mills-Lilly, 42.

Emergency medical technicians rushed the three-year-old girl to an area hospital, where she later died. The state medical examiner determined the child had a 17-pound tumor and was suffering from cancer.

Authorities accused the Lillys, who are also parents to six other children, of neglect and failing to provide their daughter with proper medical help. They hit each of them with a felony first-degree manslaughter charge, which carries a minimum of four years behind bars.

Both have posted a $60,000 bond and are due back in court on February 28.

Next Up

Secret YouTube Video Shows Life Inside Turpin Family "House Of Horrors"

True Crime News Roundup: Alabama Corrections Officer Vanishes With Her Inmate Boyfriend

Plus: Dead Louisiana woman found fused to sofa; JonBenét Ramsey’s father seeks governor’s help with DNA testing; Australian man incarcerated for killing gay American in 1988; and Pennsylvania mother shoots her two boys in the head.

Stepdad Convicted After Restaurant Manager Held Up Sign Asking Child If He Needed Help

A manager at a restaurant in Orlando, Florida took action after noticing a young boy sitting away from his family, not eating or drinking, with bruises on him.

Inside The Tragic Hart Family Murder-Suicide Crash

Jennifer and Sarah Hart killed themselves and murdered their six adopted children in 2018 by driving their SUV off a cliff in California.

Iowa Father Still Searching For Answers After Son’s 2013 Disappearance

Michael Workman’s son, Fredrick James Workman, disappeared at age 15 and may use the alias "Fred Shields."

Two Kidnapped Children Found Nearly One Year Later In Florida Supermarket

In February 2023, a routine vehicle tag check near a Winn-Dixie supermarket helped police locate the alleged kidnapper, 36-year-old Kristi Nicole Gilley, inside the store with the two children.

Child Who Went Missing From A Washington Mall In 2018 Found Safe In Mexico

8-year-old Aranza Maria Ochoa Lopez, who had been missing since 2018, was found alive and well in Mexico and returned to the United States.

5 Things You Need To Know About Susan Powell

In 2009, mother-of-two Susan Powell disappeared without a trace in West Valley City, Utah. Then in 2012, her husband Josh killed himself and their two sons after custody of the children was granted to Susan's parents.

Former Couple Arrested Almost 35 Years After 5-Year-Old Girl’s Concrete-Encased Body Found

“The baby that was thrown out into a trash pile has been identified, and we’re working to bring justice to her,” an official says.

True Crime News Roundup: Father Accused Of Killing His 3 Children, Leaving Bodies For Wife To Find

Plus: California man uses Bitcoin to pay hitman to murder his ex; police accuse woman of abandoning baby found frozen to death in 1985; woman who may be victim of alleged D.C. serial killer identified; and Ghislaine Maxwell makes bid for lighter sentence.