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A28 u.s. news
Diahuebs 30 December 2021

Woman’s conviction in ’91 killing of 5-year-old son tossed

of the evidence and after giv- Lodzinski. Rabner not participating,
ing the state the benefit of all the court split 3-3, but it was
its favorable testimony and During her 2016 trial and on enough to leave the convic-
all the favorable inferences appeal, Lodzinski’s lawyers tion undisturbed.
drawn from that testimony, argued that no forensic evi-
no reasonable jury could find dence tied her to the blanket Writing at that time for the
beyond a reasonable doubt and that prosecutors didn’t three dissenters, Justice Barry
that Lodzinski purposefully produce enough evidence to Albin wrote, “In the modern
or knowingly caused Timo- show Lodzinski purposely annals of New Jersey legal
thy’s death,” the court wrote caused the boy’s death. A history, to my knowledge, no
in its majority decision. cause of death couldn’t be murder conviction has ever
determined because Wilt- been upheld on such a dearth
The prosecutor’s office that sey’s body had deteriorated of evidence.”
tried her declined comment. in the time between when he
died and when the body was In a dissenting opinion as
Lodzinski was a single moth- found. part of Tuesday’s ruling, the
er in central New Jersey in three justices that voted to
(AP) — New Jersey’s Su- would violate a prohibition May 1991 when she told in- “If you can’t find a cause of convict said, “In our view, the
preme Court on Tuesday on so-called “double jeop- vestigators Wiltsey had dis- death, I submit you don’t majority does the opposite of
threw out the 2016 convic- ardy” or being tried twice for appeared while they were at have a homicide by defini- what our law requires.”
tion of a Florida woman the same matter, her attorney a carnival in Sayreville. She tion,” Krovatin told the court
for killing her 5-year-old Gerald Krovatin said. later gave conflicting ac- during arguments in Octo- In October, the state Su-
son 25 years earlier, ruling counts describing strangers ber. preme Court took the rare
that despite the jury’s ver- “This is a great day for the she had seen who could have step of agreeing to rehear the
dict, prosecutors failed to rule of law and for the propo- kidnapped the boy. Wiltsey’s Prosecutors, who had por- case, conceding it had made a
present enough evidence sition that convictions have to body was found nearly a year trayed Lodzinski at trial as procedural mistake by ruling
to prove she had purpose- be based on evidence, not on later, in a marshy area near an a struggling young mother on an appellate court deci-
ly caused the boy’s death. speculation or emotion,” he office complex where Lodz- who felt burdened by the sion that had applied an in-
said. “Michelle is enormous- inski had once worked. boy, argued on appeal that the correct legal standard. For the
It was a stunning turnaround ly grateful to everyone who totality of the evidence, in- rehearing, the court added an
in one of New Jersey’s most has stood by her throughout As time passed and no charg- cluding her evasive answers appellate judge to serve as a
infamous cold cases, which this long ordeal.” es were filed, Lodzinski went during initial questioning, tiebreaking vote.
had remained unresolved for on with her life and had two was enough to prove guilt be-
years even though Michelle Appellate Judge Jose Fuentes other children. She was liv- yond a reasonable doubt. An “Even if the evidence sug-
Lodzinski was considered a — called up to the Supreme ing in Port St. Lucie, Florida, appeals court agreed in 2019 gested that Timothy did not
prime suspect from the out- Court to serve as a tiebreak- in 2014 when authorities in when it upheld Lodzinski’s die by accident, no testimony
set after she gave varying ac- ing vote after the justices split New Jersey charged her with conviction. or evidence was offered to
counts of what happened on 3-3 while upholding Lodz- killing Wiltsey. Investigators distinguish whether Timothy
the day Timothy Wiltsey was inski’s conviction in May — said a break in the case had The plot thickened after a died by the negligent, reck-
last seen. cast the deciding vote in favor come when Wiltsey’s former deeply split state Supreme less, or purposeful or know-
of acquittal Tuesday. babysitters identified a blue Court ruling in May upheld ing acts of a person, even if
It also means Lodzinski can- blanket, found along with the the appeals court’s decision. that person were Lodzinski,”
not be tried again, which “After reviewing the entirety boy’s body, as belonging to With Chief Justice Stuart the majority decision read.
California man gets second life term for synagogue attack

(AP) — A 22-year-old white su- it was symbolic but that it was meant fending our nation against the Jewish Zealand, shortly before he attacked
premacist was sentenced Tues- to send a strong message. The judge people, who are trying to destroy all Chabad of Poway, a synagogue near
day to life in federal prison for denied the defense attorney’s request white people,” he said. San Diego, on April 27, 2019. He
killing a woman and injuring to have Earnest stay in state prison. frequented 8chan, a dark corner of
three others in a shooting at a The San Diego man was inspired the internet, for those disaffected by
Southern California synagogue Earnest was tied to restraints and by mass shootings at the Tree of mainstream social media sites to post
in 2019, adding to the life term he looked straight ahead without expres- Life Congregation in Pittsburgh and extremist, racist and violent views.
received three months earlier in sion during the two-hour hearing, two mosques in Christchurch, New
state court. which marked the end of legal pro-
ceedings against him.
John T. Earnest declined to speak in
a courtroom full of victims, families He pleaded guilty to federal hate
and congregants. In state court, his crimes in September after the Justice
attorney said he wanted to speak but Department said it wouldn’t seek the
a judge refused, saying he didn’t want death penalty. Defense attorneys and
to give a platform for his hate-filled prosecutors recommended a life sen-
speech. tence, plus 30 years.
Earnest’s attorney, Ellis Johnston III, That same month, Earnest received
said his client acknowledged his ac- another life term under a plea agree-
tions were “inappropriate,” a state- ment with state charges that spared
ment that was greeted with skepti- him the death penalty. His conviction
cism by prosecutors. Peter Ko, a fed- for murder and attempted murder at
eral prosecutor, said Earnest’s show the synagogue and arson for an ear-
of contrition came shortly after the lier fire at a nearby mosque brought a
shooting in a recorded phone call to life sentence without parole, plus 137
someone else. years in prison.

U.S. District Judge Anthony Battaglia Minutes after the shooting on the last
said the federal and state life sentenc- day of Passover, Earnest called a 911
es would run one after the other in- dispatcher to say he shot up the syna-
stead of concurrently, acknowledging gogue to save white people. “I’m de-