GUILTY KS - Oliver Ortiz, 9 months, dies of head trauma at Eudora daycare, 29 Sept 2016 *Arrest*

[Jewels53]

Prosecutor C.J. Rieg questioned Mitchell Tuesday morning, including highlighting Mitchell’s lengthy career including 17 years reviewing thousands of child death cases as part of a national board he served on.

Based on his own examination of Oliver’s body and ensuing lab testing, Mitchell rebutted points made by the defense’s expert and stuck to his ruling that a sudden and forceful head injury caused Oliver’s death, and quickly.

Defendant takes stand in Eudora day care murder trial, denies hurting baby; jury deliberations to start soon

 

[Jewels53]

UPDATE 4 p.m.: Closing arguments in Carrody M. Buchhorn’s murder trial concluded and the jury began deliberating shortly before 3 p.m. Tuesday.

Defendant takes stand in Eudora day care murder trial, denies hurting baby; jury begins deliberating

 

[Jewels53]

Jury deliberating case of day care worker charged with murdering baby

On Tuesday in Douglas County District Court, prosecutor Mark Simpson wove a week of testimony into a dark summary of the state’s murder case against former day care worker Carrody M. Buchhorn, 44, of Eudora.

“On Sept. 29, 2016, Oliver Ortiz went to day care, and he was a happy, healthy baby,” Simpson said. “The defendant was at the day care, she was disgruntled, she was unhappy with her work, she was unhappy with Oliver because he took more effort. And when she was alone with Oliver, it came to a head.”

Simpson said Buchhorn inflicted blunt force trauma to the 9-month-old baby’s head, interrupting electrical impulses to the brain and rendering him unresponsive.

“She hurt him, and she knew it,” Simpson said. “And instead of helping him, she put him in the Pack ‘n Play and let him die.”

Buchhorn’s defense attorney Paul Morrison painted a different picture with his closing arguments.

“This is a tragedy, a real tragedy, there’s a dead little boy,” Morrison began.

But Morrison said what happened next was a “quest” to convict his client, an autopsy that was “beyond sloppy” and an “inept, incomplete police investigation.”

 

[Jewels53]

I haven't seen or heard anything so far today, so I guess the jury is still deliberating.

I imagine this is a difficult one to decide. I won't be surprised if it ends up a hung jury. jmo

 

[Jewels53]

Story updated: 5:10 p.m. Wednesday, July 25, 2018.

Ten hours into deliberations, jurors still had not reached a verdict Wednesday afternoon in the case of a woman charged with murdering a baby she was caring for at a Eudora home day care.

Jury deliberations still underway in Eudora day care murder trial

 

[byo]

Thanks for keeping us updated, Jewels.

 

[Jewels53]

Sara Shepherd‏ @saramarieshep 34m34 minutes ago
Now going on 13 hours, the jury is still deliberating in the Eudora day care murder case

 

[Jewels53]

Jurors did temporarily return to the courtroom Wednesday afternoon to have part of the trial testimony read back to them.

Judge Sally Pokorny said jurors had requested to hear the testimony of day care owner Gina Brunton again, and the court reporter began reading aloud a transcript of Brunton’s testimony shortly before 3 p.m.

snip

Thursday morning, the court reporter was to finish reading back Brunton’s testimony and then read back testimony of coroner Erik Mitchell, which the jury also requested be repeated to them, Pokorny said at the end of the day Wednesday.

Jury deliberations still underway in Eudora day care murder trial

At least we know they are asking questions.

 

[Jewels53]

Sara Shepherd‏ @saramarieshep 4m4 minutes ago
Sara Shepherd Retweeted Sara Shepherd

VERDICT JUST DELIVERED: Guilty, 2nd degree murder. Courtroom full, extremely emotional moment for everyone on both sides.

 

[Jewels53]

Lawrence Journal-World‏Verified account @LJWorld 3m3 minutes ago
Breaking: Jurors have found a Eudora woman guilty of 2nd degree murder in a baby’s death at a home day care https://ljw.bz/2OjY1VF

 

[Jewels53]

Jurors delivered a guilty verdict Thursday in the case of a Eudora day care worker charged with murdering a baby in her care.

Carrody M. Buchhorn, 44, of Eudora, was found guilty of second-degree murder in Douglas County District Court. Buchhorn, who had been on house arrest, was taken into custody immediately and her bond was revoked. Sentencing has been scheduled for Aug. 31.

Woman guilty of 2nd degree murder in baby’s death at Eudora home day care

 

[Jewels53]

Woman guilty of 2nd degree murder in baby’s death at Eudora home day care

I know I posted the article before, I just wanted to post this picture of Oliver. A reminder of who lost his life in all of this.

 

[byo]

Eudora woman convicted of baby’s murder seeking new trial; sentencing delayed
Aug 31, 2018 - 4:32pm

FTA:
As it was during Carrody M. Buchhorn’s recent murder trial, the courtroom was nearly full for her sentencing hearing on Friday.

But her sentencing did not happen as scheduled.

Instead, Buchhorn, 44, of Eudora, has a new legal team that is trying to get her a new trial.

Douglas County District Court Judge Sally Pokorny rescheduled Buchhorn’s sentencing for Oct. 18 to allow time for her new attorneys to file their motion for a new trial and the state to file its response.

(. . .)

 

[Jewels53]

Thanks Byo!

I never understand how they can stop the sentencing. I thought you filed an appeal after sentencing?

 

[Jewels53]

Carrody M. Buchhorn’s murder conviction hinged on testimony of the coroner, who ruled that 9-month-old Oliver Ortiz’s death was a homicide and, at trial, explained the baby’s fatal injury to jurors.


Buchhorn’s plea for a new trial also hinges on testimony of the coroner.

Her lawyers are trying to get the conviction thrown out, calling the coroner’s theory of what killed Oliver “junk science at best” and even “a complete fabrication,” according to their brief requesting a new trial.

snip...

“In this case a middle aged Kansas Mom, without any hint of prior criminality, stands convicted as a baby killer — murderer — for the very slightest of provocations, wanting to shut up a whiny baby or to express frustration with a difficult employer,” Buchhorn’s attorneys wrote. “She will be taken from her two sons and her husband and cast into prison condemned with horrible conduct upon a jury verdict that must now be seriously questioned.”

Calling coroner’s ruling ‘junk science,’ lawyers seek new trial for Eudora woman convicted of murdering baby

bbm

What about Olivers parents being striped from their son life, and being able to share in his achievements throughout his life. smh

I have never understood why defense attorneys play the sympathy card on the murder's life.

 

[Brubeck]

[QUOTE="Jewels53, post: 14393558, member:]

I have never understood why defense attorneys play the sympathy card on the murder's life.

What would you have them do.

 

[Jewels53]

The sentencing date for a woman convicted of murdering a baby at a Eudora day care has been pushed back again, this time until mid-January — nearly six months after the jury’s decision.

Her attorneys’ elaborate motion for a new trial and problems finding available days on the court’s packed schedule combined to create the lengthy delay.

During a brief hearing Monday in Douglas County District Court, Judge Sally Pokorny rescheduled sentencing until Jan. 18 for Carrody M. Buchhorn, 44, of Eudora.

....

Prior to that date, Pokorny set aside two full days to hear witness testimony and arguments and rule on the motion for a new trial. Those hearings will be Dec. 21 and Jan. 15, because the court couldn’t find two back-to-back days when attorneys and the judge were all available.

Sentencing for woman convicted of baby’s murder now pushed back until 6 months after jury’s decision

 

[Jewels53]

Two child neurology specialists said over and over Friday in Douglas County District Court that the coroner’s conclusion about how a baby boy died at a Eudora home day care was medically impossible.

Therefore, the caregiver recently found guilty of murdering the infant has been wrongly convicted and should get a new trial, her lawyer argued.

“The jury in this case was deceived by false testimony by an expert,” attorney William Skepnek said. “Dr. (Erik) Mitchell was telling a story that he made up, that was not supported by any medical authority.”

....
While she has yet to rule on Buchhorn’s request for a new trial, Pokorny on Friday definitively shot down another of her requests: when it comes to sentencing, to ignore the coroner’s opinion that whoever killed Oliver acted with extreme indifference to human life.

Pokorny said she would not act as a “super juror.”

“The jury has already determined that the defendant killed Oliver, and she did that under circumstances manifesting the extreme indifference to human life,” Pokorny said. “I’m not considering Dr. Mitchell’s testimony again at sentencing — that’s over.”

In recent court filings, Buchhorn’s attorneys also said that, in light of their experts’ opinions, Buchhorn should be released from jail immediately.

The judge on Friday did not hear arguments about or address that request. Buchhorn was taken back to jail after the hearing.

Medical experts skewer coroner’s ruling in baby’s death as convicted woman seeks new trial

 

[Jewels53]

In an effort to get a new trial, a Eudora woman convicted last summer of murdering a baby is arguing that her trial lawyer bungled the case.

That lawyer happens to have one of the most robust resumes in the state. Paul Morrison is a former Kansas attorney general and an 18-year Johnson County district attorney who’s dealt with hundreds of murder cases in his nearly 40-year law career, including some of the state’s most notorious.

Morrison took the witness stand Thursday in Douglas County District Court during a post-trial motions hearing for Carrody M. Buchhorn, 44, of Eudora.

In an atypical order of events, Buchhorn fired Morrison and co-defense attorney Veronica Dersch after her murder conviction in July but before her sentencing. Buchhorn hired new lawyers, William Skepnek and Kevin Babbit, who are arguing she should get a new trial because the coroner’s ruling was “junk science” and her first lawyers should have dealt with it differently.
....
Buchhorn’s next hearings are scheduled for Feb. 19 and 21, with sentencing planned on Feb. 21.

Trial lawyer, former AG calls ineffective counsel claim ‘laughable’ at hearing for Eudora woman convicted of murdering baby

 

[JerseyGirl]

Buchhorn, 44, of Eudora was convicted of murder last summer, her sentencing won’t proceed until the judge rules on whether she’ll get a new trial.

Defense lawyers stand by trial performance in Eudora day care murder case, say client was wrongly convicted