(photo: Judge Cooney giving the jury their instructions for their deliberations)
A jury is currently deliberating whether the man who’s accused of beating and killing a 2-year-old girl did it.
This all began in September, after deputies were called out to a home on the South Hill where Adalynn Hoyt was found dead. Prosecutors say she was left in the care of Jason Obermiller the night before, but when she was found, he wasn’t at the house. In fact, they say that after he found out that Adalynn was dead, no one could reach him after that.
Prosecutors argued that Obermiller hurt Adalynn to get back at her mother and his ex, Lovina Rainey. They say he was upset because he was stuck with a drug debt he believed wasn’t his to pay.
During the trial, a medical examiner testified to the fact that there were more than 60 points of impact on the Adalynn’s 2-year-old body.
“She was hit so hard that she could neither swallow nor inhale that little bit of pizza that was stuck to the palate of her mouth,” said Gayle Ervin, Spokane County deputy prosecutor, during her closing argument.
The defense on the other hand told the jury they should have doubts about the truth of the charge of second-degree murder. They reiterated how much Obermiller cared for Adalynn, but also pointed to the fact that there were other people in the house after Obermiller had left shortly before midnight. They also suggested that certain witnesses lied to detectives in their statements.
“It is much more likely that Adalynn Hoyt was killed by Lovina Rainey or Anthony Bettcher sometime after 6:30 a.m.,” said Kevin Griffen, Obermiller’s attorney.
While a lot has been argued during this trial, there is one piece of testimony that hasn’t been disputed.
“That little girl is never going to sit up and look at her and say mommy,” Ervin said.
As soon as the jury delivers its verdict, we will bring you that information.
(story and photo: Katie Chen, KHQ.com)