QUOTE OF THE DAY: (After dismissing the charge): “Have a great day, great life, one and all.”
District Judge Martin Gonzalez .
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"Citing a lack of resources and
evidence deteriorated with time, 12th Judicial District Attorney Crista
Newmyer-Olsen asked District Judge Martin Gonzales to dismiss the 2003
child death case against Krystal Voss, 43. Judge Gonzales dismissed the case on Friday. Earlier this summer Chief District Judge Pattie Swift had
granted a new trial for Voss, who had been convicted by a jury in
November 2004 of felony child abuse resulting in death in connection
with her son Kyran’s 2003 death. Judge Gonzales had scheduled the new
trial for January 2018. Voss had been serving a 20-year sentence in the case,
which had alleged that she was responsible for the traumatic head
injuries that resulted in her 19-month-old son’s death. She had been
scheduled for a parole hearing in May of 2018, with her mandatory
release date July 14, 2020. Kyran Voss was admitted to the Alamosa hospital on January
31, 2003, with a head injury that Krystal Voss and her friend Patrick
Ramirez initially said was caused by Kyran falling off Ramirez’s
shoulders while the child was in his care. Kyran died a few months later
on March 24, 2003. Ramirez later changed his story to place the blame
for the injuries on Voss. Voss’ attorneys during her initial trial argued that
Ramirez was to blame, and expert witnesses during appellate hearings
before Judge Swift in late 2015 and early 2016 argued that the child’s
fatal injuries could have been deemed accidental rather than
intentional. Last month Judge Swift granted a new trial for Voss on the
basis that her initial trial counsel did not adequately explore the
defense argument that the child’s fall off Ramirez’s shoulders could
have resulted in his death. In her September 7 motion asking the judge to dismiss the
case, Newmyer-Olsen referred to the delay between the two trials and the
lack of resources in her office in coming to the decision to seek
dismissal. “While many of the physicians who treated the child victim
in this case remember the child and his injuries very clearly, some of
the medical records no longer exists,” Newmyer-Olsen stated. “The
quality and quantity of evidence tends to erode over time in most
cases.” Since the prosecution carries the burden of proving the case,
deteriorated or unavailable evidence would weaken the case,
Newmyer-Olsen explained in her motion. In addition, Newmyer-Olsen stated that her office was
“grossly understaffed, with each attorney carrying a caseload that is at
least double — some triple — the generally advisable caseload for a
prosecutor.”........ “After full evaluation of the case, the possible outcomes,
and the limited resources of the Office of the District Attorney, and
the unique challenge presented by the procedural posture of this case,
the People assert that it is necessary that this case be dismissed,”
Newmyer-Olsen concluded in her motion. mJudge Gonzales had scheduled a status hearing on Friday.
Voss’ new defense attorneys and Voss were present via telephone for the
hearing and obviously had no objection to the judge granting the DA’s
motion to dismiss the case. “I will sign off on the order. The case is dismissed,” Judge Gonzales said. “Thank you so much,” Voss said. The judge concluded, “Have a great day, great life, one and all.”
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/c
