Jury, unable to reach verdict, adjourns
ELKHORN — A Walworth County jury was unable to reach a verdict Friday in the trial of an East Troy man accused of first-degree reckless homicide in the death of his infant daughter.
Jason H. Andritsch, 27, of 2178 Clark St., No. 7, East Troy, is accused of first-degree reckless homicide and causing great bodily harm to a child in the 2007 death of his 3-week-old daughter, Naomi.
On Friday, Andritsch testified for the first time during the trial.
He recounted the night of Oct. 7, 2007, when Naomi became lifeless and was rushed to Waukesha Memorial Hospital.
Andritsch said he and Naomi’s mother, Tiffany Mielke, gave Naomi a bath.
After the bath, he wrapped Naomi in a towel and took her to the bedroom while Mielke dumped the bathwater outside their small apartment in East Troy.
When Andritsch started drying her with a towel, he said, Naomi had a bowel movement. He took her to the bathroom while Mielke returned from dumping the bathwater.
“I sat on the toilet and leaned forward to the cat litter box,” Andritsch said.
District Attorney Philip Koss questioned Andritsch’s actions. Koss said most people would have stayed in the bedroom instead of taking the baby to a cat litter box.
Andritsch said he acted hurriedly and that Naomi urinated and went limp while he was cleaning her.
Andritsch and Mielke rushed Naomi to Waukesha Memorial Hospital. She was later flown to Children’s Hospital in Milwaukee, where she died Oct. 13, exactly one month after she was born.
During his closing statement Friday, Koss told the 12 people on the jury that their job was not to decide whether Andritsch injured Naomi on purpose.
He asked the jury to appeal to logic and reach a guilty verdict because Andritsch was the only person to touch Naomi after the bath.
“We’re not charging the defendant with doing this on purpose; we’re not saying he intended to kill his daughter,” Koss said. “We know from what the doctors said that this is a clearly inflicted injury. It’s evidence of child abuse.
“The issue is going to be who did it.”
The jury adjourned Friday night and will begin deliberations again Monday morning.
May 30, 2009 at 5:30 p.m.
Suggest removal
I really don't get the cat litter box thing. Was he trying to shake to doo-doo off the baby over the litter box? Who does that? This all sounds too bizaar!
Before you post a comment, consider this:
Note: GazetteXtra.com does not condone or review every comment. Read more in our User Policy AgreementPost Comment
Commenting requires registration.