WV WV - Aliayah Lunsford, 3, Lewis Co., 24 Sep 2011 #14 *Guilty*

[Niner]

Can someone in the U.S. access this article - it won't let me, as I'm in Europe! I get this message:
We’re sorry. This site is temporarily unavailable.

We recognise you are attempting to access this website from a country belonging to the European Economic Area (EEA) including the EU which enforces the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and therefore cannot grant you access at this time.

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(403 error.)


Lunsford Conaway post-trial motions hearing set late next week

All I can see on my Google Alert is this:

Lunsford Conaway post-trial motions hearing set late next week
WV News
CLARKSBURG — A post-trial motions hearing has been set at 1 p.m. next Friday for Lena Lunsford Conaway, who last month was convicted in the ...

I see in that brief clip that she has a hearing set for next Friday!

TIA!

 

[casesensitive]

Niner--I have copied and pasted 10% of the article (per copyright rules).

"During that hearing, defense attorney Tom Dyer is expected to seek a post-verdict judgment of acquittal. It's also likely that he will allege that state didn't share potentially exculpatory evidence with Lunsford Conaway, 35, formerly of Bendale and now of Florida. On the latter issue, Dyer would ask Chief Judge Jake Reger to toss out the guilty verdicts a Lewis County jury returned against Lunsford Conaway."

It also notes that she will be sentenced June 28 by Chief Judge Jake Reger in Lewis County Circuit Court. Prosecutor Christina Flanagan has declined to comment but it's expected she will ask Reger to uphold the convictions.

A pop up said I enjoyed my one free content. So that's it for me.

 

[Niner]

Thanks a bunch casesensitive! Very much appreciated. I really hate those sites where you a limited amount of "looking" for free!

 

[AmandaReckonwith]

Niner, I copy everything I can and save it in the Case Archive, including that article.

Justice For Aliayah:
Justice For Aliayah by amanda reckonwith

 

[Niner]

Friday, June 1st:
*Post-Trial Motions Hearing (@ 1pm ET) - WV - Aliayah Lunsford (3) (Sept. 24, 2011) - Lena Marie Lunsford Conaway (34), "mom" indicted (3/6/16) with four counts: Murder of a child by parent by failure to provide necessities, which carries a life sentence; death of a child by parent by child abuse, which carries up to 40 years in prison; child abuse resulting in injury, which carries 1-5 years; and concealment of a dead body, which also carries 1-5 years. Plead not guilty. 4/23/18: After 2 hours of deliberations:
On the charge of murder of a child by a parent by failure to provide necessities: Guilty
On the charge of death of a child by parent by child abuse: Guilty
On the charge of child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury: Guilty
On the charge of concealment of a dead body: Guilty
The jury will decide tomorrow (4/24) if she will be granted mercy or no mercy on the murder charge.
4/24/18: The Lewis County jury has recommended no mercy for Lena Lunsford-Conaway. That means she'll be sentenced to life in prison, and she won't be eligible for parole. That's just for the murder conviction. Lunsford-Conaway will have another sentencing hearing for the other convictions. The sentences for those other convictions will be in addition to the life sentence for murder. Judge Jacob Reger schedules sentencing for Lena Lunsford on June 28 at 9 a.m. Four convictions ranging from murder to child abuse to concealment of a deceased body in case of missing 3-year-old daughter Aliayah.
5/18/18: The defense attorney for Lunsford Conaway says he plans on filing motions that are "outside the typical post-trial motions." Dyer said a motion hearing for Monday was canceled. Dyer said the scheduled hearing was pretty standard for post-trial convictions, but that he needs more time to file other motions.
6/1/18: During this hearing today, defense attorney Tom Dyer is expected to seek a post-verdict judgment of acquittal. It's also likely that he will allege that state didn't share potentially exculpatory evidence with Lunsford Conaway, 35. On the latter issue, Dyer would ask Chief Judge Jake Reger to toss out the guilty verdicts a Lewis County jury returned against Lunsford Conaway."

 

[Tortoise]

Why oh why do these defense attorneys go that extra mile when guilt is so clear? Exculpatory evidence? Why didn't they share it with the jury during the trial??! They had their chance. What a waste of public resources.

 

[Tortoise]

If the defense had known about the doctor prior to the trial, “the defendant could have elicited from Trooper Loudin, or subpoenaed Dr. Wright himself to the stand to offer the doctor’s opinion that the cause-of-death would be impossible to determine without a body,” the Dyers wrote.

[...]

“What we have here — in the absence of a body — is the presentation of evidence at trial by the State of a theory or explanation as to what may have or might have been the cause of death,” the Dyers wrote.

“This is precisely why prosecutorial agencies almost never move forward with murder charges in a case where no body has been found,” the Dyers wrote;

[...]

The Dyers added that jurors can’t be allowed to “speculate, connect the dots, or make the types of leaps of faith from evidence like that presented in this trial to convictions for murder without completely undermining the integrity and credibility of a system that requires proof as a cornerstone.”

Defense motions: State's failure to share potential evidence should nix Lunsford Conaway convictions

 

[Tortoise]

About another 2 hours to go until the hearing.

 

[Tortoise]

Brittany Murray (@BMurrayWVRadio) | Twitter
HAPPENING NOW: At the Lewis County Courthouse for a hearing in the case of Lena Lunsford Conaway. Her attorney, Tom Dyer, has made a motion for acquittal.

 

[Tortoise]

Brittany Murray (@BMurrayWVRadio) | Twitter
Lewis County Prosecuting Attorney Christina Flannigan asks for “a week or two” to review the motions filed by Tom Dyer. Dyer has no objections to the request.
Consequently, a post-trial motions hearing will be held June 19 at 10 a.m.

 

[No Stone Unturned]

Lunsford Conaway request for acquittal rescheduled June 21 at state's request

"The evidence-sharing allegation is based on the U.S. Supreme Court decision Brady vs. Maryland. That opinion from 1963 found prosecutors must share all potentially exculpatory evidence with defendants.”

 

[Niner]

Actually the motion hearing is on June 21st per this article:

Parties appear for post-trial motions hearing in Lunsford Conaway case, defense wants new trial

Dyer was granted until June 19th, and the prosecution until the 14th, to file the necessary paperwork regarding an appeal. No set decision has been made on whether the appeal will be granted.
A motions hearing is set for June 21 at 10 a.m.

 

[Squirrel85]

<modsnip - remove link>

Aliayah Lunsford Foundation established to honor her memory

I am not sure where the proper place is to drop the link. There is a foundation set up in honor of Aliayah's memory.

 

[Niner]

WV MetroNews – Prosecutor requests court deny new trial for Lena Lunsford

WESTON, W.Va. — Lewis County prosecutor Christina Flanigan requested the circuit court deny convicted murdered Lena Lunsford Conaway’s request for a new trial.

Lunsford Conaway’s attorney, Tom Dyer, has requested Chief Judge Jake Reger set aside the guilty verdicts for murder, child abuse and concealment of a deceased body in the case of her missing daughter Aliayah, who vanished at age 3 in 2011. Lunsford Conaway is awaiting sentencing June 28.

Dyer seeks a new trial “on the grounds that the State suppressed or withheld evidence from the defense in violation of Brady v. Maryland.”

 

[Niner]

Thursday, June 21st:
*Post-Trial Motions Hearing (@ 10am ET) - WV - Aliayah Lunsford (3) (Sept. 24, 2011) - Lena Marie Lunsford Conaway (34), "mom" indicted (3/6/16) with four counts: Murder of a child by parent by failure to provide necessities, which carries a life sentence; death of a child by parent by child abuse, which carries up to 40 years in prison; child abuse resulting in injury, which carries 1-5 years; and concealment of a dead body, which also carries 1-5 years. Plead not guilty.
4/23/18: After 2 hours of deliberations:
On the charge of murder of a child by a parent by failure to provide necessities: Guilty
On the charge of death of a child by parent by child abuse: Guilty
On the charge of child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury: Guilty
On the charge of concealment of a dead body: Guilty
The jury will decide tomorrow (4/24) if she will be granted mercy or no mercy on the murder charge.
4/24/18: The Lewis County jury has recommended no mercy for Lena Lunsford-Conaway. That means she'll be sentenced to life in prison, and she won't be eligible for parole. That's just for the murder conviction. Lunsford-Conaway will have another sentencing hearing for the other convictions. The sentences for those other convictions will be in addition to the life sentence for murder. Judge Jacob Reger schedules sentencing for Lena Lunsford on June 28 at 9 a.m. Four convictions ranging from murder to child abuse to concealment of a deceased body in case of missing 3-year-old daughter Aliayah.
5/18/18: The defense attorney for Lunsford Conaway says he plans on filing motions that are "outside the typical post-trial motions." Dyer said a motion hearing for Monday was canceled. Dyer said the scheduled hearing was pretty standard for post-trial convictions, but that he needs more time to file other motions.
6/1/18: During this hearing today, defense attorney Tom Dyer is expected to seek a post-verdict judgment of acquittal. It's also likely that he will allege that state didn't share potentially exculpatory evidence with Lunsford Conaway, 35. On the latter issue, Dyer would ask Chief Judge Jake Reger to toss out the guilty verdicts a Lewis County jury returned against Lunsford Conaway."
6/1/18 Update: Lewis County Prosecuting Attorney Christina Flannigan asks for “a week or two” to review the motions filed by Tom Dyer. Dyer has no objections to the request. Consequently, a post-trial motions hearing will be held June 21 at 10 a.m.

 

[Tortoise]

A Lewis County judge did not grant the motion of Lena Lunsford Conaway requesting a new trial.

As a result of Thursday’s hearing, Lunsford’s sentencing hearing has been pushed back from it’s original date of June 28 to July 2.

[more to read...]

Lunsford Conaway’s sentencing will be 2 p.m. on July 2.

WV MetroNews – Lunsford denied new trial, sentencing scheduled for July

 

[Tortoise]

The judge did grant the defense a short continuance of sentencing from next Thursday until 2 p.m. July 2. Defense attorney Tom Dyer had requested the short postponement because Lunsford Conaway hadn't received a pre-sentence report in time.

[more to read...]

"I haven't seen much more compelling testimony than these … children testifying about what their mother did to their little sister," Reger said. That, along with plenty of corroborating evidence meant the jury could have as they did find Lunsford Conaway guilty of all counts.

Judge Reger: Rulings in Lunsford Conaway murder trial will stand

 

[Niner]

Thanks for the updates Tortoise!

 

[Knox]

Stick a fork in her, she's done, done, done!!!

 

[No Stone Unturned]

<Judge Reger: Rulings in Lunsford Conaway murder trial will stand>

“Sentencing is a mere formality since the jury already found that Lunsford Conaway should serve life in prison without possibility of parole on the charge of murder of a child by parent by failure to provide necessities."