Murder charges remain in child’s death | News, Sports, Jobs

OBSERVER Photo: Gregory Bacon Ashley Bertino is taken to the county jail by Sheriff’s Deputies after a preliminary hearing in Silver Creek allowed the murder charge against him to proceed.

SILVER CREEK – Ashley Bertino will remain behind bars following the death of her 12-year-old daughter last spring.

On Friday, Acting Hanover Township Judge Christopher Penfold ruled that the prosecution had established sufficient evidence to proceed with a second-degree murder charge against the 36-year-old Silver Creek mother.

The District Attorney’s decision followed a two-day preliminary hearing in Hanover City Court, where a total of eight people testified.

WITNESSES TESTIMED IN COURT

On Thursday, Mya’s school bus driver, the former Silver Creek Central School Dean of Students, the county’s Chief Medical Examiner, the county coroner who responded to the scene, and a nurse from Silver Creek Pediatrics testified for the prosecution.

Two more people testified on Friday.

The first was Jennifer Johnson. She is the registered nurse at Silver Creek Central School.

Johnson stated that he has known Mya and her twin sister since kindergarten. Later, when he started school, he also got to know his younger brother.

Johnson stated that Mya frequently visited the nurse’s office because her clothes did not fit, her underwear became dirty, and sometimes she did not wear them at all.

Johnson said Mya’s mother, Ashley Bertino, did not want Mya to visit the nurse’s office. “He didn’t like us” he said.

When Johnson was asked to describe Mya’s appearance in the last year of her life, Johnson said that Mya’s hair looked like it had never been brushed and that her body smelled bad. “It looked unhealthy.” he said.

On the last day Mya went to school, she complained that her stomach hurt and she was gagging.

Johnson’s husband is Silver Creek’s school resource officer. Around 6:45 p.m., Mya’s 23 Oak St. She said that she and her husband went to the scene when they heard an emergency call was made to her house at .

Mya’s younger brother broke down in tears as he hugged his husband, saying he thought Mya was dead, Johnson said.

Mya’s sister did not show any emotion, but Johnson said “He might be in shock.”

As Mya was being loaded into the ambulance, Johnson said he did not see Bertino.

After Johnson spoke, Sheriff’s Office Investigator Eric Vara was taken to the witness stand.

He was called to go to Brooks Hospital after he was taken there the night Mya died.

Vara said he and his partner had a 30-minute conversation with Bertino to understand what was happening from his perspective. Bertino’s Miranda Rights were not read to him. “It was just finding the facts.” he said.

After two witnesses were called on Friday, both the prosecution and defense made their closing statements.

First Assistant District Attorney Jeffrey DiPalma stated that this was not a trial; this is a preliminary hearing where the prosecution must show “reasonable reason” for charging.

DiPalma said he believes the prosecution has established what Bertino showed “depraved indifference” at the death of his daughter. “This is not ordinary indifference. “This shocks the conscience of a normal person,” he said. he said.

DiPalma, Bertino “Medical help was not obtained until it was too late.” Mya died of diabetic ketoacidosis, a complication of untreated diabetes.

Deputy Public Defender Andrew Brautigam recorded Mya’s death “it was a tragedy” However, he argued that the prosecution could not show that his client had done anything criminal.

Following closing arguments, Penfold orally reviewed the testimony of all eight people who spoke and noted that the defense refused to bring any witnesses to the stand.

After ruling that the second-degree murder charge could proceed, Penfold stated that the case would go to the Grand Jury and Bertino would be returned to the county jail without bail.

Penfold added that it was a very emotional preliminary hearing. “In my 24 years on the bench, this is the most serious case I’ve ever heard of.” he said.

NEXT STEPS

After the hearing, District Attorney Jason Schmidt moved on to the next steps of the case. He said they would still take the case to the Grand Jury if additional charges were possible. This is expected in December.

Once the Grand Jury process is completed, if the District Attorney’s Office files an indictment, Bertino will be arraigned and his bail status will then be reviewed by a District Court Judge.

After that, Schmidt said the case will be taken to court. “discovery” The stage where evidence is collected and shared with the defense. Once the legal difficulties regarding the evidence are resolved, the case can go to trial.

But Schmidt doesn’t expect a hearing anytime soon. “Given the severity of this, when I look at the timeline, I don’t expect to see this on our trial schedule here until August of next year, and even that might be ambitious.” he said.

While Penfold ordered Bertino held in the county jail without bail, Schmidt said the District Court Judge could review Bertino’s status at any time upon request of the defense.

Schmidt thanked everyone who testified at the preliminary hearing and said it was clear the community was doing its best to help Mya. “It’s shocking to me that here we are in 2024 and an entire community is trying to provide resources to this mother to help care for her own children. “And this mother chose to refuse the help that was offered.” he said.

Schmidt said Bertino should be held accountable for his actions. “This is just shocking to me. This is a preventable death. … The entire school district has fulfilled its responsibilities. The only person who should have had the legal obligation and moral responsibility to do something about this did nothing until it was too late. It cannot remain unanswered. “This type of action is unacceptable.” he said.