The conviction of a Cortland County man who was found guilty of murdering his girlfriend’s 2-year-old daughter has been overturned after an appeals court decided he didn’t receive a fair trial.
Dorain Bohn, 36, of McGraw, was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison in 2019. He had been convicted by a jury of second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a child in the girl’s April 2018 death.
In a decision released Oct. 23, a state appeals court determined the cumulative effect of certain rulings by the trial judge about evidence in the case deprived Bohn of a fair trial and the case could be retried in Cortland County Court. However, the appeals court also said the prosecution’s evidence had been sufficient to support the jury’s guilty verdict.
What happened to 2-year-old Kassidy
The night of April 19, 2018, Bohn had been babysitting the child, Kassidy, by himself in the McGraw apartment he and his girlfriend shared when a second-floor neighbor heard a noise that carried enough force to rattle dishes in her kitchen.
Cortland County Sheriff’s deputies were called to the McGraw residence around 9 p.m. and discovered the child was dead.
Bohn claimed Kassidy had fallen off the top of a bunk bed, causing the head injury that killed her, but the prosecution alleged during trial she was injured during a course of physical abuse by Bohn, who then delayed seeking medical care for her.
“Given the evidence that defendant waited over an hour to call 911 and engaged in a sexually explicit conversation with the mother during this time, despite knowing that the victim was injured and having trouble breathing,” the appeals court’s decision read, “there is no basis to disturb the jury’s determination that defendant did not care whether the victim lived or died.”
An autopsy report used as evidence in the trial indicated there were 50 abrasions and contusions on Kassidy’s body. Investigators who testified during the trial also said a damaged area of wallboard in the apartment, discovered after the child’s death, was consistent with the height of Kassidy’s head, and one of her blonde hairs was embedded within a crack in the wall.
Why NY appeals court overturned conviction in toddler’s death
In its decision, the appeals court noted several rulings by the presiding judge deprived Bohn of a fair trial.
The inclusion of Bohn’s past criminal history, including acts of domestic violence and a 2011 DWI conviction, risked “undue prejudice,” as did the mention of a sexual assault test performed on the child, even though the result was negative.
The court further said the prosecution “did not lay a proper foundation” to establish the accuracy of a breath alcohol test performed on Bohn and Kassidy’s death certificate, which listed her manner of death as homicide, should have been redacted.
“Although we are mindful that the court gave appropriate limiting instructions regarding several of these issues,” the decision read, “the cumulative effect of these prejudicial evidentiary rulings deprived defendant of a fair trial. Accordingly, the judgment of conviction must be reversed.”
This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: McGraw man was found guilty of killing 2-year-old. Why the conviction was overturned
Reporting by Jillian McCarthy, Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin / Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin
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