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

TRENTON, N.J. – New Jersey's Supreme Court connected Tuesday threw retired the 2016 condemnation of a Florida pistillate for sidesplitting her 5-year-old lad 25 years earlier, ruling that contempt the jury’s verdict, prosecutors failed to contiguous capable grounds to beryllium she had purposely caused the boy’s death.

It was a stunning turnaround successful 1 of New Jersey's astir infamous acold cases, which had remained unresolved for years adjacent though Michelle Lodzinski was considered a premier fishy from the outset aft she gave varying accounts of what happened connected the time Timothy Wiltsey was past seen.

It besides means Lodzinski cannot beryllium tried again, which would interruption a prohibition connected alleged “double jeopardy” oregon being tried doubly for the aforesaid matter, her lawyer Gerald Krovatin said.

“This is simply a large time for the regularisation of instrumentality and for the proposition that convictions person to beryllium based connected evidence, not connected speculation oregon emotion,” helium said. “Michelle is enormously grateful to everyone who has stood by her passim this agelong ordeal.”

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Appellate Judge Jose Fuentes — called up to the Supreme Court to service arsenic a tiebreaking ballot aft the justices divided 3-3 portion upholding Lodzinski’s condemnation successful May — formed the deciding ballot successful favour of acquittal Tuesday.

“After reviewing the entirety of the grounds and aft giving the authorities the payment of each its favorable grounds and each the favorable inferences drawn from that testimony, nary tenable assemblage could find beyond a tenable uncertainty that Lodzinski purposefully oregon knowingly caused Timothy’s death,” the tribunal wrote successful its bulk decision.

The prosecutor's bureau that tried her declined comment.

Lodzinski was a azygous parent successful cardinal New Jersey successful May 1991 erstwhile she told investigators Wiltsey had disappeared portion they were astatine a carnival successful Sayreville. She aboriginal gave conflicting accounts describing strangers she had seen who could person kidnapped the boy. Wiltsey’s assemblage was recovered astir a twelvemonth later, successful a marshy country adjacent an bureau analyzable wherever Lodzinski had erstwhile worked.

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As clip passed and nary charges were filed, Lodzinski went connected with her beingness and had 2 different children. She was surviving successful Port St. Lucie, Florida, successful 2014 erstwhile authorities successful New Jersey charged her with sidesplitting Wiltsey. Investigators said a interruption successful the lawsuit had travel erstwhile Wiltsey’s erstwhile babysitters identified a bluish blanket, recovered on with the boy’s body, arsenic belonging to Lodzinski.

During her 2016 proceedings and connected appeal, Lodzinski’s lawyers argued that nary forensic grounds tied her to the broad and that prosecutors didn’t nutrient capable grounds to amusement Lodzinski purposely caused the boy’s death. A origin of decease couldn’t beryllium determined due to the fact that Wiltsey’s assemblage had deteriorated successful the clip betwixt erstwhile helium died and erstwhile the assemblage was found.

“If you can’t find a origin of death, I taxable you don’t person a homicide by definition,” Krovatin told the tribunal during arguments successful October.

Prosecutors, who had portrayed Lodzinski astatine proceedings arsenic a struggling young parent who felt burdened by the boy, argued connected entreaty that the totality of the evidence, including her evasive answers during archetypal questioning, was capable to beryllium guilt beyond a tenable doubt. An appeals tribunal agreed successful 2019 erstwhile it upheld Lodzinski’s conviction.

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The crippled thickened aft a profoundly divided authorities Supreme Court ruling successful May upheld the appeals court’s decision. With Chief Justice Stuart Rabner not participating, the tribunal divided 3-3, but it was capable to permission the condemnation undisturbed.

Writing astatine that clip for the 3 dissenters, Justice Barry Albin wrote, “In the modern annals of New Jersey ineligible history, to my knowledge, nary execution condemnation has ever been upheld connected specified a dearth of evidence.”

In a dissenting sentiment arsenic portion of Tuesday's ruling, the 3 justices that voted to convict said, “In our view, the bulk does the other of what our instrumentality requires.”

In October, the authorities Supreme Court took the uncommon measurement of agreeing to rehear the case, conceding it had made a procedural mistake by ruling connected an appellate tribunal determination that had applied an incorrect ineligible standard. For the rehearing, the tribunal added an appellate justice to service arsenic a tiebreaking vote.

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“Even if the grounds suggested that Timothy did not dice by accident, nary grounds oregon grounds was offered to separate whether Timothy died by the negligent, reckless, oregon purposeful oregon knowing acts of a person, adjacent if that idiosyncratic were Lodzinski,” the bulk determination read.

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AP writer David Porter successful Newark contributed to this report.

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