After a Miami baby was rushed to the hospital, doctors found the little girl had suffered a horrific fracture to the skull and swelling in the brain. X-rays revealed that 10-month-old Sophia had also suffered fractures in her arms and legs in the past.
Police and Miami-Dade prosecutors believed the child’s mother and sole caretaker, April Fox, beat her savagely over weeks leading up to Sophia’s emergency room visit four years ago. Florida child welfare authorities also considered Fox enough of a threat to legally strip Fox of parental rights to her two minor children. And Sophia, who can walk and talk despite the brain damage, has since been adopted.
But at Fox’s trial on charges of aggravated child abuse this month, her defense lawyer argued it was the toddler’s brittle bones, genetic disorders and an untimely fall that were to blame for Sophia’s injuries. Jurors ultimately could not decide and a mistrial was declared.
But instead of allowing prosecutors a second trial, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Mark Blumstein took the unusual step of acquitting the 34-year-old mother himself.
“I’m really trying to get some picture of what happened that day,” Blumstein said late last week, according to audio of the trial. “I’m not surprised about what the jury came to, and someone beyond any human in the court will have to answer those questions. But in light of what I heard, and after hearing the presentation from the state, I don’t think it’s going to change with any retrial of this case.”
The decision stunned Miami-Dade prosecutors — it’s rare that a judge acquits defendants outright of major felonies. The acquittal also surprised defense lawyers and Fox, who began to hyperventilate loudly in court.
The State Attorney’s Office cannot appeal the judge’s acquittal, and Fox won’t get her children back.
“It’s kind of bittersweet. She won the trial but lost the war,” said defense lawyer Kellie Peterson.
She was accused of breaking her baby’s skull. What the judge did stunned the courtroom
Jurors could not reach a unanimous verdict for April Fox, who was accused of brutally beating her 10-month-old daughter. After a mistrial, a Miami-Dade judge decided himself to acquit the mother.
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