mysteriew
A diamond in process
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Kristina Gaime, accused of killing her 6-year-old son and trying to kill his 8-year-old brother, seemed to have gained the upper hand against prosecutors who wanted her to spend the rest of her life in prison.
A judge had thrown out key pieces of evidence: purported suicide notes she wrote amid a bitter custody battle, and the hose authorities say she used to poison her drugged boys with carbon monoxide.
An appeals court upheld the decision, devastating the state's case. Gaime's attorneys declared her innocence and their readiness to prove it at trial.
Then, on Wednesday evening, a secret hearing produced a surprise plea deal: Gaime pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder, agreeing to a prison sentence of 20 years.
Her hand, it seems, was forced by the emergence of a key prosecution witness:
Her surviving son, Adam Rotell.
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/10/06/Pasco/Mother_pleads_in_her_.shtml
A judge had thrown out key pieces of evidence: purported suicide notes she wrote amid a bitter custody battle, and the hose authorities say she used to poison her drugged boys with carbon monoxide.
An appeals court upheld the decision, devastating the state's case. Gaime's attorneys declared her innocence and their readiness to prove it at trial.
Then, on Wednesday evening, a secret hearing produced a surprise plea deal: Gaime pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder, agreeing to a prison sentence of 20 years.
Her hand, it seems, was forced by the emergence of a key prosecution witness:
Her surviving son, Adam Rotell.
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/10/06/Pasco/Mother_pleads_in_her_.shtml
