A Lake Havasu City man charged in the death of his own baby appeared at a Monday status hearing at the Mohave County Courthouse in Kingman. While the proceeding was largely uneventful, Judge Billy Sipe made it clear that he expects attorneys to be ready for trial on November 5.
Deputy county attorney Kellen Marlow appeared on behalf of Megan McCoy, the prosecutor who will try Andrew Lamorie, 23, and Brittany Rodriquez, 26, at the same time. Both are charged with first degree murder in the death of their daughter, Gabriella Lamorie.
Marlow told Judge Sipe setting up interviews is the only issue attorneys are trying to resolve to keep the trial on track. He said it has been difficult to schedule the interviews because McCoy’s trial involvement has created some conflicts with potential witness interview dates.
Judge Sipe encouraged the parties to keep working to resolve conflicts so the trial can be conducted as scheduled.
An autopsy determined that Gabriella suffered brain injuries and was emaciated when she died in January at a Las Vegas hospital. The near 27-month-old victim weighed just 14 pounds at the time of her death at University Medical Center, according to the Clark County Coroner’s office report.
Medical analysis was unable to corroborate Rodriquez’ statement to authorities that the toddler possibly suffered from a thyroid condition that might explain her emaciated state.
“The cause of death is blunt force head and neck trauma with severe malnutrition listed as another significant condition,” forensic pathologist Jennifer Corneal wrote in her autopsy report. “The cause of death is homicide.”
Police reports indicate that Lamorie told investigators that he had placed Gabriella in “timeout” in a closet and that he found her limp and non-responsive when he checked on her on January 11. Gabriella died three days later when life support was withdrawn at the Las Vegas hospital.
The trial is expected to take two weeks to complete.
