Day 3 of Wright trial: Expert and family witnesses testify – Lancaster Eagle Gazette

LANCASTER - Day three in the jury trial of Amie Wright was filled with expert witness testimony.

Dr. Markita Suttle, a pediatric intensive care doctor with Nationwide Children's Hospital, testifies during Amie Wright's jury trial Thursday, June 3. Wright is facing one count each of murder, involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment for her alleged involvement in the death of Annalise Murphy in 2019. Suttle treated Annalise at the hospital before her death.(Photo: Barrett Lawlis/Eagle-Gazette)

Wright, 40, of Pickerington, ischarged withmurder, an unclassified felony; involuntary manslaughter, a first-degree felony; and endangering children, a third-degree felony related to the death of a child under 18 in January 2020.

The last two days of the trial focused on Robert and Amanda Murphy's testimony, the parents of the victim, 3-month-old Annalise Murphy, who died in 2019. Wright provided childcare for the Murphy family in January 2019, before Annalise died.

On Thursday, attorneys for the prosecution and the defense asked questions of Dr. Markita Suttle, a pediatric intensive care doctor at Nationwide Children's Hospital; Dr. Michael DiBartola, Annalise's general pediatrician; Columbus Police DepartmentDet. Andre Edwards; now retired CPD DetectiveMatthew Grasham; Sarah Jones, Amanda Murphy's former colleague; and grandparents of the deceased Cynthia McConnell and Connie Murphy.

During her testimony, Dr. Suttle described the normal procedure for patients needing care in the ICU, explaining it is common to see children with severe brain injuries. Emergency medical personnel and other doctors will provide the medical history of patients, with input also coming from families or caregivers.

"As a doctor in the ICU, I treat critically ill and critically injured children. I see the sickest of the sick. My team was alerted Annalise Murphy might need our treatment when she was taken to the emergency room at Children's hospital on Jan. 22, 2019. When Annalise came in, it was determined she was a level one trauma, the most serious level of trauma," Suttle said. "We began to assess her alertness, vital statistics and she'd already had a tube inserted into her airway to help her breath."

Suttle said Annalise was unresponsive, and CT scans had been completed on her head, chest, abdomen, and pelvis. The scan of the head revealed blood between the brain and the outer most casing, subdural hematomas. Suttle added during the first examination, several factors stood out, like Annalise's soft spot, or anterior fontanel, was bulging and her pupils were of unequal size. These were signs Annalise's brain was swelling. The CT scans also indicated there had been previous trauma to the brain, but Suttle said she believedthe swelling was caused by an injury that Tuesday the 22.

Suttle explained damage to the brain, for anyone of any age, isn't good: the brain doesn't heal like bones or cuts. Her team's prioritywas to prevent any more damage to the brain. Regulating oxygen, body temperature, and breathing as best they could, Suttle's team monitored Annalise's progress.

Suttle returned to work on Wednesday to find Annalise's condition had worsened, and readings indicated she had low brain activity. An MRI confirmed her suspicions: the majority of Annalise's brain was damaged or dying. The only parts still healthy were her thalamus and her brain stem, controlling hormones and breathing, respectively.

"That's when we had the meeting with Robert and Amanda Murphy about her prognosis, both myself and the neurosurgeon team lead. We informed them Annalise would never really be Annalise again. She'd require assistance breathing, and she'd never see, speak, hear or really live again," Suttle told the court. "We weren't even in the worse stage of brain swelling yet, but there was nothing medically my team could do. The damage was already done."

Suttle said they made the options clear to the parents, who ultimately took Annalise off life support on Thursday the 24.

During testimony, Suttle explained the traumatic brain injury wouldn't necessarily have any physical indications like bruising or cuts, and some of the obvious signs of trauma were more obvious in hindsight. Some previous reports noted an abnormal soft spot, but she explained a number of factors that affect it.

Dr. Michael DiBartola, Annalise's general pediatrician, testified she was a normal, healthy baby prior to Jan. 7, 2019. He still serves as the surviving Murphy children's pediatrician.

DiBartola told the court Annalise was a normal baby, as he noted during her early checkups after her birth in October 2019. Although she'd had one visit concerning a possible ear infection in December, Annalise was healthy, he said, with nothing of note before January.

He was the pediatrician who saw her on Jan. 8, the first day after she stayed with Wright. DiBartola said he was informed she was behaving abnormally: vomiting, not just spitting up, being fussy, and noticeable change in character.

When Annalise was brought to his office before she was hospitalized, DiBartola testified she wasn't her normal self, but there weren't apparent injuries to explain what was happening. A rotavirus diagnosis from Nationwide Children's Hospital explained some of the symptoms, he said.

DiBartola added he did go through Annalise's previous medical records once he heard the news of her passing on the 24.

CPD DetectiveAndre Edwards and retired-DetectiveMatthew Grasham testified about their investigations. Edwards is a physical child abuse detective, and Grasham served as a homicide detective.

Connie Murphy testifies during Amie Wright's jury trial Thursday, June 3. Wright is facing one count each of murder, involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment for her alleged involvement in the death of Annalise Murphy, Connie's granddaughter, in 2019.(Photo: Barrett Lawlis/Eagle-Gazette)

Edwards said he and his team were alerted to a possible child abuse case after Annalise was admitted to NCH in January 2019. He said his team started the investigation, then handed it off to the homicide division after she died.

He said his team conducted a "controlled call" with Amanda Murphy to Amie Wright, a police tactic he said helps gather more information without raising any party's suspicions. During cross-examination, he said the story used in the controlled calls can help point towards suspects, but they're not designed with one specific suspect in mind.

The story for the controlled call between Amanda and Wright said Annalise was recovering, but the medical staff wondered if anything had happened to her to cause the injuries. The prosecution played the call. On it, a woman identified as Wright says no, she can't think of anything, and she would have known if anything happened to Annalise.

Edwards and his partner also visited Wright's residence for an interview. A tape of that interview was also played.The detectivescover a variety of topics, including a timeline of the 22, any possible injuries, how Wright knew the Murphy family, and if she was aware Annalise had at least five broken ribs, to which Wright can be heard asking "are you serious?"

The rest of the tape has Wright explaining who is around the children and what a normal day looked like, as well as if Annalise had beenacting noticeably different.

During his testimony, Grasham said his team had taken over the investigation after Annalise's death but had been informed to get familiar with the case before that.He described a number of calls and interviews he had done, as well as listening and reading through earlier material related to the case. He said until the Franklin County Coroner's office released its report, his team worked to narrow suspects.

Grandmothers of Annalise, Cynthia McConnell, and Connie Murphy took the stand Thursday. They described Annalise, from when she was born until her death, sharing their experiences with her.

Connie said the last time she saw her granddaughter before she stayed with Wright, she remembered being on the floor with her as Annalise babbled.

"I looked at Robert, my son, and said listen, she's trying to tell us a story," Connie said.

The two women described the time after Jan. 7, coming to the Murphys' home to help take care of the couple's oldest daughter and provide relief with Annalise. They remarked they noticed Annalise getting better around the weekend of Jan. 18, but then remember the call she'd been hospitalized.

Cynthia McConnell testifies during Amie Wright's jury trial Thursday, June 3. Wright is facing one count each of murder, involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment for her alleged involvement in the death of Annalise Murphy, Cynthia's granddaughter, in 2019.(Photo: Barrett Lawlis/Eagle-Gazette)

"I got a picture from Amanda of Annalise the morning of Jan. 22. It was of her smiling, probably the first time we'd seen that smile since the start of all this. Then I got the bad news," McConnell said.

The trial is ongoing, scheduled to resume Friday.

blawlis@gannett.com

740-681-4342

@BarrettLawlis

Read or Share this story: https://www.lancastereaglegazette.com/story/news/local/2021/06/03/day-3-wright-trial-expert-and-family-witnesses-testify/7518339002/

Go here to read the rest:
Day 3 of Wright trial: Expert and family witnesses testify - Lancaster Eagle Gazette