GUILTY SD - Sioux Falls, WhtMale, UP17189, Newborn, born alive, Feb'81 *ARREST in 2019* - Baby Andrew

[Niner]

Bumping up for little Andrew....

Not finding any updates on this case - search just comes up with articles already posted.

 

[Niner]

Prosecutors in murder case: DNA evidence from Theresa Bentaas trash pull should be allowed

Mar 9, 2020

Prosecutors are asking a judge to deny defense attorneys' request to exclude DNA evidence used to link and charge a Sioux Falls woman in a nearly 40-year-old homicide case, saying the evidence is similar to a fingerprint or mugshot.

Prosecutors referenced national cases that have allowed DNA evidence obtained without a warrant to be used in court in their response to Theresa Rose Bentaas' attorneys' motion to suppress DNA evidence.
[.....]
A hearing on the motion to suppress evidence is scheduled for Friday [3/13/20].

 

[Niner]

Friday, March 13th:
*Motions Hearing (@ am CT) – SD – Andrew John Doe (Litz) (newborn, found Feb. 28, 1981, Sioux Falls, lying in a icy ditch) - *Theresa Rose Bentaas (57/19 @ time of crime) arrested (3/8/19), charged (3/11/19) & arraigned (3/11/19) with 1st degree murder, 2nd degree murder & 1st degree manslaughter. Plead not guilty. $250K Cash only bond changed (4/30/19) to $250K cash or Surety bond. Out on bond w/GPS ankle monitor.
Parabon NanoLabs GEDMatch
Trial was to start on 6/10, postponed to 9/3/19, postponed to 4/2020
5/20/19: Bentaas was released from jail on bond Monday & will be required to wear a GPS ankle monitor, hand over her passport, check in at her attorney's office once a week and live with a family member. Article said trial is in Sept.
6/10/19 Update: Trial was scheduled to begin today, has been postponed to Sept. 3, 2019.
9/3/19 Update: Jury selection in Bentaas’ trial was scheduled to begin Tuesday, but the trial has now been moved to April, 2020. The Minnehaha County State’s Attorney’s Office says the trial has been delayed because all parties are trying to find a time when witnesses are all available.
2/14/20 Update: Defense attorney Clint Sargent, on Friday (2/14/20) filed a motion to suppress DNA extraction, testing, sequencing & profile evidence. He also filed more than 30 pages in briefs supporting the motion. Next motions hearing to suppress on Mar. 13, trial begins in April.

 

[Niner]

Theresa Bentaas: Judge to decide if DNA from trash pull is admissible for trial

March 13, 2020

A judge is going to decide whether DNA evidence used to link and charge a Sioux Falls woman in a 1981 homicide can be used at her April trial.

Attorneys argued Friday morning whether DNA taken from items in a trash pull will be admissible in the trial for Theresa Rose Bentaas, who is facing murder charges in the former cold case of Baby "Andrew" John Doe, an hours-old baby who was found wrapped in a blanket at the corner of what is now 33rd Street and Sycamore Avenue.

Judge Susan Sabers listened to testimony from a state forensic lab specialist and arguments from attorneys, and said she'd issue a decision by Tuesday. Bentaas is scheduled to go to a two-week trial in April.

 

[Legally Bland]

Police lifted DNA from her trash and charged her with a baby's 1981 murder. She says that was illegal.

I think the article is pretty much the same as the one Niner posted above.

 

[Niner]

Don't know IF this will be going on today - but since I can not access the court site I shall post it anyway & see if we get an update sometime soon....

Tuesday, March 17th:
*Motions Hearing (Judge’s decision) (@ am CT) – SD – Andrew John Doe (Litz) (newborn, found Feb. 28, 1981, Sioux Falls, lying in a icy ditch) - *Theresa Rose Bentaas (57/19 @ time of crime) arrested (3/8/19), charged (3/11/19) & arraigned (3/11/19) with 1st degree murder, 2nd degree murder & 1st degree manslaughter. Plead not guilty. $250K Cash only bond changed (4/30/19) to $250K cash or Surety bond. Out on bond w/GPS ankle monitor.
Parabon NanoLabs GEDMatch
Trial was to start on 6/10/19, postponed to 9/3/19, postponed to 4/2020. (2 week trial)
5/20/19: Bentaas was released from jail on bond Monday & will be required to wear a GPS ankle monitor, hand over her passport, check in at her attorney's office once a week and live with a family member. Article said trial is in Sept.
6/10/19 Update: Trial was scheduled to begin today, has been postponed to Sept. 3, 2019.
9/3/19 Update: Jury selection in Bentaas’ trial was scheduled to begin Tuesday, but the trial has now been moved to April, 2020. The Minnehaha County State’s Attorney’s Office says the trial has been delayed because all parties are trying to find a time when witnesses are all available.
2/14/20 Update: Defense attorney Clint Sargent, on Friday (2/14/20) filed a motion to suppress DNA extraction, testing, sequencing & profile evidence. He also filed more than 30 pages in briefs supporting the motion. Next motions hearing to suppress on Mar. 13, trial begins in April.
3/13/20 Update: Judge Susan Sabers listened to testimony from a state forensic lab specialist and arguments from attorneys, and said she'd issue a decision by Tuesday, 3/17.

 

[Niner]

Bentaas case: Judge says DNA evidence from trash pull can be used in murder trial

Published 3:47 PM EDT Mar 17, 2020

DNA evidence found on a trash pull at the home of a Sioux Falls woman charged with murder in a nearly 40-year-old case can be used in her jury trial, a judge ruled.

DNA that linked Theresa Rose Bentaas to that of a baby found in a ditch in 1981 can be used in her trial, scheduled for April, Second Circuit Court Judge Susan Sabers said in a brief filed in court Monday.

Sabers denied Bentaas' attorney's request to suppress DNA evidence obtained from a trash pull last year, but acknowledged that privacy concerns existed.
[.....]
Bentaas' potentially three-week trial is scheduled to start April 20.

 

[Niner]

@Legally Bland

I can't seem to access this link:

kbhbradio.com
All I can see when I google it is this:

PIERRE, SD - The 2020 Nest Predator Bounty Program will begin on April 1. ... PIERRE – With school cancelled for two weeks in South Dakota and other ... Jury selection in Theresa Bentaas' trial was scheduled to begin Tuesday, but the trial ...

Unfortunately, it doesn't say "when" the trial has been postponed to...

When I did get into that site and did a search I couldn't find anything that mentions this line. Maybe you'll have better luck? TIA!

 

[Legally Bland]

@Legally Bland

I can't seem to access this link:

kbhbradio.com
All I can see when I google it is this:

PIERRE, SD - The 2020 Nest Predator Bounty Program will begin on April 1. ... PIERRE – With school cancelled for two weeks in South Dakota and other ... Jury selection in Theresa Bentaas' trial was scheduled to begin Tuesday, but the trial ...

Unfortunately, it doesn't say "when" the trial has been postponed to...

When I did get into that site and did a search I couldn't find anything that mentions this line. Maybe you'll have better luck? TIA!

Sorry, I can only find the same as you on Google search, can't find the actual article.

 

[Niner]

Sorry, I can only find the same as you on Google search, can't find the actual article.

Thanks for taking the time to look!

 

[Vail]

I really don't know how I feel about this. I don't think this woman is a danger to society or anyone else and has succesfully raised two children. I think she has had t live with this terrible guilt and secret for a long time, and prison does nothing but destroy the family she went on to build when sh felt she could. I dont agree that leaving the poor thing in a field was right, but I also understand that she may have felt she had no choices or was in fear of her family/others.

 

[Niner]

Bumping up - I doubt very much this trial is going to happen on Monday.... tried again to google for anything new, but just getting articles from 2019.

If anyone reading here - sees something - please post!

 

[Legally Bland]

Bumping up - I doubt very much this trial is going to happen on Monday.... tried again to google for anything new, but just getting articles from 2019.

If anyone reading here - sees something - please post!

Nothing specific on this trial, but SD courts still seem to be open.

 

[Niner]

Thanks for checking on this @Legally Bland - much appreciated!

edited to add - but do you really think they will call in people for jury selection??!!

 

[Legally Bland]

Thanks for checking on this @Legally Bland - much appreciated!

edited to add - but do you really think they will call in people for jury selection??!!

I honestly don't know, I'd be surprised if it goes ahead.

 

[Niner]

Going to post this as being cancelled...

Monday, April 20th:
*Trial set to begin-CANCELLED! (@ am CT) – SD – Andrew John Doe (Litz) (newborn, found Feb. 28, 1981, Sioux Falls, lying in a icy ditch) - *Theresa Rose Bentaas (19 @ time of crime/57/now 58) arrested (3/8/19), charged (3/11/19) & arraigned (3/11/19) with 1st degree murder, 2nd degree murder & 1st degree manslaughter. Plead not guilty. $250K Cash only bond changed (4/30/19) to $250K cash or Surety bond. Out on bond w/GPS ankle monitor.
Parabon NanoLabs GEDMatch
Trial set to begin on 4/20/20 (2-3 week trial) was cancelled due to coronavirus.
Court info from 5/20/19 thru 2/14/20 reference post #66 here:
Found Deceased - SD - Sioux Falls, WhtMale, UP17189, Newborn, born alive, Feb'81 *ARREST in 2019* - Baby Andrew
3/13/20 Update: Judge Susan Sabers listened to testimony from a state forensic lab specialist and arguments from attorneys, and said she'd issue a decision by Tuesday, 3/17.
3/17/20 Update: DNA that linked Bentaas to that of a baby found in a ditch in 1981 can be used in her trial, scheduled for April, Second Circuit Court Judge Susan Sabers said in a brief filed in court Monday, 3/17. Sabers denied Bentaas' attorney's request to suppress DNA evidence obtained from a trash pull last year, but acknowledged that privacy concerns existed. Bentaas' potentially three-week trial is scheduled to start April 20.
4/17/20 Update: Trial could be cancelled due to the coronavirus.

 

[Legally Bland]

Not sure how I missed this article, trial definitely postponed:
________________

Five cases were tried this March. None will be heard in April, May or possibly even June.

One of the deferred cases is that of Theresa Bentaas, who has been charged with murder in connection to the former 1981 cold case of Baby Andrew, a newborn who was found on the side of a Sioux Falls road. That case, scheduled for trial later this month, could take between four and six weeks once it's rescheduled.

A different kind of surge: Courts prepare for daunting return to normal caseload

 

[Niner]

Thanks for that article Legally Bland! I haven't seen any updates (over here that is). JUNE??!! I guess Baby Andrew has waited 39 years for justice, what's a few more months, eh?

 

[Niner]

@Legally Bland - was wondering if there might be a court date or trial for Bentaas yet? If you've heard.

TIA!

 

[Niner]

@Legally Bland - June is almost done - just wondering if there "might" something updated in the court site?
TIA!