DALLAS – A Texas appeals court overturned the conviction of a Peruvian nanny accused of fatally beating the toddler she had cared for in suburban Dallas.
Prosecutors were considering their next step Monday after the Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas concluded last week that two errors were made during the capital murder trial of Ada Betty Cuadros Fernandez.
Cuadros was sentenced to life in prison in the October 2005 death of Kyle Lazarchik, one the twin boys she cared for in the northern Texas city of McKinney. Investigators contend she smashed the boy's head against a kitchen cabinet door.
The court ruled Friday that Cuadros' defense attorney was not able to cross-examine a DNA analyst who prepared a report used at trial, violating a defendant's right to confront an accuser. An expert witness opinion rebutting the prosecution's theory of the case also was wrongly excluded from trial, the court said.
The district attorney's office hasn't yet decided whether to retry Cuadros or appeal the ruling, said Assistant District Attorney Greg Davis said.
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