What happened to murderer after judge made him choose own prison sentence

Warning: This article contains discussion of child abuse which some readers may find distressing.

A man unknowingly set his own prison sentence after a judge asked him what punishment would fit someone guilty of the same crime.

Christopher McNabb, from Covington, Georgia, and his partner, Courtney Marie Bell, were the parents of 15-day-old Caliyah McNabb.

In October 2017, they reported their 15-day-old daughter missing, claiming abduction. Later, a search party found the baby’s body wrapped in McNabb’s t-shirt inside his bag in nearby woods.

An autopsy showed the infant died from blunt-force head trauma, whilst the jury also learned that both parents had been on crystal meth when McNabb beat her to death.

A Newton County jury convicted McNabb of multiple charges in 2019, which included malice murder, felony murder, second‑degree murder, aggravated battery, two counts of child cruelty, and concealing a death.

Chris McNabb was jailed for killing his two-week-old daughter Caliyah in 2017 (11Alive)

Meanwhile, Bell received convictions for murder and child cruelty.

"I am guilty because I did drugs, but I ain’t never seen this comin’, that’s my baby. I went to put her to sleep and I woke up and she was gone." Bell said in her interrogation, according to Fox 5 Atlanta

Why the judge made Chris McNabb 'choose' his prison sentence?

At sentencing, McNabb said he was innocent, telling the judge: "I'm innocent, I didn't do it. I've maintained that the whole time.

"I just don't understand how you find somebody guilty of doing something to a 15-day-old baby, because there was no evidence whatsoever that proved anything about me putting my hands on those kids.

"I've never done it, I never would. I don't believe in it. I was beat as a child and I don't agree with it at all. I would never do it. I would never do this.

"That's all I got to say. I'm innocent."

The judge then asked: “If you’re innocent, what sentence should the person who did this get?”

To which McNabb replied: “They deserve the maximum.”

After his comment, the judge revealed that McNabb had warranted the harshest punishment: “On the crime of malice murder, I sentence you to life in confinement without parole.”

Where is Chris McNabb now?

McNabb's appeals have been unsuccessful (11Alive)

As of 2025, McNabb remains behind bars in Georgia, serving life without the possibility of parole.

His partner Bell received a 30‑year sentence for her convictions, although some counts were later overturned on appeal.

All of McNabb's appeals have been denied.