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Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Cook trial: Testimony ends, case will go to jury Thursday
DAYTON — The defense for Kimberly Cook, on trial for the death of her half-sister, rested Wednesday, Sept. 30, after producing only one witness, Cook’s father-in-law.
Closing arguments are scheduled for 1 p.m. Thursday, then the case will go to the jury. The trial, before Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Mary Wiseman, started Monday.
Kimberly Cook, 23, is on trial this week for charges related to the alleged abuse of her half-siblings Hope Cook and her 6-year-old brother. The charges include murder. Hope, 3, died July 20, 2008 at Children’s Medical Center.
Cook was the legal guardian for both children. Hope’s brother was 6 at the time of Hope’s death. They were living at the family’s mobile home at Voyager Mobile Home Park, off U.S. 35, in Trotwood.
Kimberly is charged with two counts of murder, one count of felonious assault, and two counts of child endangering. One of those child endangering charges are for the half-brother’s injuries and the other four charges are for Hope’s. Kimberly Cook is not charged with purposeful murder, and both murder counts stem from a “proximate result” of the other two charges involving Hope.
James Terrill, whose son Chad is married to Kimberly Cook, testified that Hope fell from a merry-go-round in his backyard three days before her death. Terrill told defense attorney Scott Calaway that he didn’t see the fall, but heard another child yell out.
“I went back to her and she got up,” Terrill said. “She just started playing again. She seemed alright.”
During cross examination by Assistant County Prosecutor Tracey Ballard Tangeman, Terrill said that the incident was so minor that he did not tell his son or Kimberly Cook about it. He also said that he saw Hope’s brother with two black eyes that day.
The merry-go-round is just over 17 inches off the ground, Terrill told Tangeman.
Earlier Wednesday, forensic pathologist Bryan Casto testified about Hope’s extensive brain injuries, which he said could not be the result of an accidental fall. He also said that the girl, whose skull was shattered in two places, could not have suffered that type of injury days earlier without showing any symptoms.
“This is inflicted,” Casto said. “It’s homicide.”
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Cook trial: Prosecutors rest their case
DAYTON — Assistant Montgomery County prosecutors rested their case against Kimberly Cook after presenting a representative from the coroner’s office Wednesday, Sept. 30.
Forensic pathologist Bryan Casto testified about the extensive brain injuries suffered by 3-year-old Hope Cook, Kimberly’s half-sister. Hope died July 20, 2008, at Children’s Medical Center.
“This is inflicted,” Casto said. “It’s homicide.”
Casto told assistant county prosecutor Tracey Ballard Tangeman that the injuries could have been caused by an able-bodied adult woman and would not require a weapon.
Hope’s injuries, which included severe brain swelling, could not be caused by a fall in a bathtub, Casto said. He also said that the girl could not have suffered that type of injury days earlier without showing any symptoms.
Defense attorney Scott Calaway told the jury Monday that Hope might have injured herself when she fell in the shower. Calaway also said the girl banged her head when she fell off a merry-go-round days before her death.
Kimberly Cook, 23, is on trial this week in common pleas court for charges related to the alleged abuse of Hope and Hope’s 6-year-old brother Dexter. The three were living at the family’s mobile home at Voyager Mobile Home Park, off U.S. 35, in Trotwood.
Kimberly is charged with two counts of murder, one count of felonious assault, and two counts of child endangering. One of those child endangering charges are for Dexter’s injuries and the other four are for Hope’s. Kimberly Cook is not charged with purposeful murder, and both murder counts stem from a “proximate result” of the other two charges involving Hope.
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U.S. Attorney takes oath of office
COLUMBUS — Carter M. Stewart, confirmed by the U.S. Senate two weeks ago, was sworn in Wednesday, Sept. 30, as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio.
U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus Jr. administered the oath of office.
President Barack Obama nominated Stewart on the recommendation of Sen. Sherrod Brown. Stewart replaces Gregory Lockhart, a George W. Bush appointee who resigned earlier this year.
Stewart had been a senior litigation associate at Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease in Columbus since July 2005. He was recognized as one of Columbus Business First’s Forty Under 40 Leaders to Watch in 2008.
He also received the John Mercer Langston Bar Association’s Emerging Leader Award in 2008, and in 2007 was named by the Minority Corporate Counsel Association as one of ten African-American attorneys to watch nationally.
Before moving to Columbus, Stewart served as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of California from 2003 until 2005, where he led law enforcement teams investigating gang and drug-related activity. He prosecuted a variety of cases including drug and gun possession, social security fraud, obstruction of justice, environmental crimes, the illegal distribution of steroids to professional athletes, and illegal immigration.
Stewart graduated from Harvard Law School in 1997. He also holds a Master of Arts Degree in Education Policy from Columbia University and received his undergraduate degree in Political Science from Stanford University.
After law school, Stewart clerked for the Honorable Robert L. Carter, U.S. District Judge in the Southern District of New York and the Honorable Raymond L. Finch, U.S. District Judge in the District of the Virgin Islands.
Stewart will oversee a staff of 108. The southern district encompasses 48 counties, including the Miami Valley.
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