A jury returned a verdict recently in favor of Maricopa County in the case Lisa Randall v. Maricopa County, a lawsuit involving the Office of the Medical Examiner. In 2007, a botched investigation into the death of a four-month-old Dillon Uutela resulted in the prosecution Peoria day-care provider Lisa Randall.
According to the Arizona Republic:
Defense medical experts said brain swelling from illness could have caused the skull fractures and bleeding. Another crack was a naturally formed structure in infant skulls.
There was no outward mark on Dillon’s body, and pathologists ruled out a baby-shaking death.
After two days of medical and police testimony, Superior Court Judge Gary Donahoe ruled there was enough probable cause to charge Randall – but not enough evidence to hold her without bond.“I can see this as a not-guilty verdict at trial. And even if they were to find her guilty, I’m not sure I’ve got substantial evidence that this is a death-penalty case. I think if I were the sentencing judge, based on what I’ve heard so far and the information I have, I’m not sure I’d impose the death penalty,” Donahoe told attorneys.
On Aug. 4, 2010, Superior Court Judge Michael Kemp threw out the entire case with prejudice. Prosecutors did not appeal.
Kemp cited conflicting medical evidence, including a prosecution medical expert who had concluded two months earlier: “There is no evidence that Dillon Uutela died as a result of blunt-force trauma.” The expert concluded that “the cause of death remains unknown.”
Randall sought to hold Maricopa County liable for the Medical Examiner’s conclusion that the infant died due to blunt force trauma of the head and neck. After a judge invalidated a defense verdict in 2013, the parties were back in court for a retrial from December 5 to 19, 2016. The Civil Services Division of the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office successfully defended Maricopa County and the Medical Examiner in a jury trial.
The jury agreed that the Medical Examiner was not grossly negligent in the performance of his statutory duties, rendering a 9-1 verdict in favor of Maricopa County.