Friday, January 12, 2018

Homicide case of Upper Tulpehocken woman held over for court



 
 
An Upper Tulpehocken woman will go to trial on homicide charges in the 2015 death of a foster child in her care.
At a preliminary hearing Thursday, Berks County District Judge Andrea J. Book bound Shawna Moore over for trial on charges of third degree murder and endangering the welfare of a child.
TODAY'S SPONSOR:
Moore, 31, is charged in the April 7, 2015 death of a 2½-year-old Cameron Michael, a foster child living in her home. Michael died in a hospital about a week after Moore called 9-1-1 to report the boy had fallen down the stairs of her home in the first block of Hipple Lane and was unresponsive.
The Berks County District Attorney's Office filed homicide charges after medical tests showed his injuries were not consistent with a fall down the stairs.
Thursday's hearing was dominated by the testimony of State Police Trooper Ian Marquardt, who led the investigation into Michael's death.
Marquardt, despite the objections of defense attorney Jacob A. Gurwitz, testified about discussions with doctors working for Hershey Medical Center and the Dauphin County Coroner's Office who were involved with Michael's case. It was through those doctors' examinations, post-mortem tests to Michael's right eye, brain and spine, and consultations with other medical experts that it was determined Michael's injuries did not come from a fall down the stairs, Marquardt testified.
Instead, the trooper said, they were the result a whiplash motion and blunt force trauma normally associated with a car crash.
Gurwitz challenged Marquadt's testimony, calling it hearsay and complaining that there were no written reports from the doctors and that they weren't present to be questioned. Meg McCallum, a supervising attorney for the district attorney's office, cited case law in saying such testimony was allowed at a preliminary hearing, and Book allowed Marquadt to share what the doctors had told him.
Gurwitz also said the prosecution had not presented sufficient evidence for a charge as serious as third-degree murder. He said they did not present any theory as to what Moore allegedly did to Michael to cause his death and that they did not prove that she acted with malice.
McCallum argued that an adult causing a fatal injury to a 21/2-year-old infers malice.
Also testifying Thursday were two emergency medical technicians who were the first to respond to Moore's 9-1-1 call. Each described seeing the boy lying motionless at the bottom of the stairs inside Moore's home.
They also testified that a paramedic from another ambulance company picked the boy up, cradled him in his arms and carried him outside to load him into an ambulance. Both EMTs said proper protocol would have called for the boy to have a C-collar placed around his neck before being moved on a special back board designed for children.
The defense did not call any witnesses.
Moore is scheduled for a formal arraignment later this month in front of Berks County Judge Theresa Johnson.
Contact David Mekeel: 610-371-5014 or dmekeel@readingeagle.com.

No comments:

Post a Comment