Reedley police detective Mark Diedrich said Martzen told him Ella and her brother, John, were supposed to take a nap. John went to bed, but Ella was fussy and refused.
Martzen told Diedrich she took Ella into her bedroom where she was working on her laptop computer. Ella was standing on the bed when Martzen reached for a pen, causing Ella to fall to the hardwood floor. Ella died from head injuries, including a skull fracture, police reports said.
At the hospital, a doctor saw the bruising from an older injury and asked the VanLeeuwens about it.
A doctor told the VanLeeuwens that Ella died from "shaken baby impact" syndrome, which occurs when a baby's head is struck against a wall or other hard object.
But Ella also had bruises to her face and other injuries to her abdomen, injuries Hammerschmidt said were not reported to coroner's investigators.
He said the Reedley police investigation was "botched" and information about prior injuries was not given to Fresno County coroner's investigators.
Martzen did not baby-sit Ella and her brother in the days before Ella's fall, and the toddler could have been injured 12 to 24 hours before her death, Hammerschmidt said. Police should have told coroner's investigators about Ella's pre-existing bruises, he said.
During Tuesday's hearing, Todd and Danielle VanLeeuwen testified that their children went to Martzen's house four or five days a week and enjoyed it. They said there never were any incidents in the few months before Ella's fall.
Martzen had told the couple that Ella fell from her bed, but she didn't see Ella land.
She went to Ella's aid and found her not responsive and barely breathing. She called her mother-in-law before calling Danielle VanLeeuwen. The next call was for paramedics. Her husband, Scott Martzen, already was on his way home from work to eat lunch.
While at the hospital, a doctor saw the bruising from an older injury and asked the VanLeeuwens about it. They told him about the coffee table injury earlier in the week.
Danielle VanLeeuwen said Ella was injured when she and her brother were playing with cars and running around the coffee table.
"My husband told me about it," she said. "He saw it."
But Todd VanLeeuwen said he didn't remember witnessing the incident.
Both VanLeeuwens also said they knew nothing of Ella falling backward while on a booster seat that was atop a chair.
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