A jury discovered Danika Jackson not responsible on Wednesday of 1 depend of felony abandonment of a kid leading to loss of life after a deadly canine mauling claimed the lifetime of her six-year-old son in 2021.
Jackson confronted a most jail sentence of 15 years following the loss of life of Avery Jackson-Dunphy, who was killed by his grandparents’ dogs on Nov. 22, 2021.
Wednesday’s verdict got here after about three hours of jury deliberation ― one hour on Tuesday and two hours on Wednesday morning. It ended the second of three jury trials associated to Avery’s loss of life. His grandmother, Leslie Owens, was acquitted in Dec. 2023 of a third-degree felony relating to possessing harmful dogs after third Judicial District Judge Douglas Driggers delivered a directed verdict.
Avery’s grandfather, Kevin Owens, will face a jury over a five-day trial beginning on April 15, 2024. He can be charged with reckless abuse of a kid alongside the identical harmful canine statute that Leslie Owens confronted. Instead of Driggers, third Judicial District’s Richard Jacquez is listed because the trial choose.
“I’ll be sorry day by day of my life”
A directed verdict comes when a choose feels prosecutors haven’t sufficiently confirmed the legal expenses are warranted. It usually happens after a protection lawyer requests one, which occurs in almost each trial.
Following two days of testimony, Driggers denied two requests for a directed verdict by protection lawyer Robert Cooper ― as soon as after the prosecution rested on Tuesday and a second time after Cooper referred to as Jackson to the stand as the one witness in her protection.
Cooper argued that prosecutors didn’t show Jackson left Avery underneath circumstances that might expose him to threat of hurt, nor {that a} failure to offer correct parental care and management crucial for Avery’s properly being resulted in loss of life, per the state statute.
This time, nonetheless, Driggers decided the case could be despatched to the jury.
Jackson, who moved to Hobbs in 2020, however was visiting her dad and mom in Mesilla Park when Avery was killed, testified on Tuesday, in addition to Avery’s father, Patrick Dunphy.
Two variations emerged associated to how Avery, described as an adventurous boy, discovered his means into the world of the property the place a number of dogs have been stored. Dumphy testified that Jackson had instructed him she let him within the space, the place he may see a litter of puppies whereas Jackson testified that she left him within the entrance yard of the property, enjoying in a sand pile, away from the dogs and different animals on the property.
Jackson testified that when she went into her guardian’s home to print some paperwork for work, she left Avery enjoying in a sand pile within the entrance yard of the property. Jackson testified that Avery knew find out how to open gates to the completely different components of the property, in addition to climb fences. When she got here again exterior, Avery was not the place she left him and located Avery after members of her household screamed to name for assist from the again yard.
“I’ll be sorry every day of my life,” Jackson mentioned. “I will question everything the rest of my life. I wish it would have never happened.
“I left him someplace he has been for years. The dogs were in the yard. The (horses) were in their pasture. Nothing felt or seemed dangerous.”
During closing arguments, Cooper instructed the jury Jackson was inside for 10 minutes. In addition to questioning components of Dunphy’s testimony, Cooper argued that Jackson didn’t depart Avery in danger and that solely an intervening act of Avery leaving the entrance yard to enter the yard uncovered him to hazard.
“At the time she walked away, at that very minute, circumstances didn’t expose Avery to threat or hurt,” Cooper instructed the jury.
According to a police report, Kevin Owens, 62, instructed deputies that he was referred to as away by a development crew engaged on his home. Ten minutes later, the boy’s mom and the grandmother referred to as Owens again exterior. The boy had gotten right into a cage housing six dogs. Doña Ana County Sheriffs deputies testified that Avery was chilly and pale they usually couldn’t find a pulse once they arrived on scene.
El Paso County Medical Examiner Mario Rascon testified that the reason for loss of life was a number of canine chunk accidents within the neck space and that the loss of life was unintentional.
Prosecutor David McCardle argued that Jackson left Avery within the sand pile realizing that he was able to climbing fences and opening gates on the property.
“Children are kids, they don’t seem to be on the age of maturity, they can’t be chargeable for themselves,” District Attorney Gerald Byers mentioned Wednesday.
“It is our joint accountability to make sure the protection, safety and longevity of kids entrusted to our care. That is the essence of what that case was about.”
Avery’s father, district lawyer, react to verdict
Following Wednesday’s verdict, Byers and Dunphy held an impromptu press convention within the District Attorney’s workplace.
“We have been involved with the sheriff’s division,” Byers mentioned. “We did attain out to them. The sheriff’s division did present a detective and did the very best they might with what they’d. They have been working with us each stage alongside the way in which to attempt to pursue justice for Avery.”
Dunphy mentioned Driggers withheld proof from the trial, together with graphic photographs of Avery following the attack, testimony from a parenting coordinator conversant in the case, and extra cases of neglect that resulted in accidents. Dunphy makes lots of the similar allegations in a civil lawsuit filed in Las Cruces courtroom that names the City of Las Cruces, Doña Ana County, the grandparents, and the mom as defendants.
“I want to thank the jury for contemplating the proof, albeit a sliver of the proof of Avery’s total life,” Dunphy mentioned. “Judge Driggers didn’t enable a major quantity of proof into the trial. The sample of follow of Danika persevering with to depart Avery unsupervised leading to a number of critical accidents.”
The lawsuit states that Jackson instructed Dunphy that Avery fell off a fence and injured his head when, the truth is, a horse kicked Avery. After that harm, the lawsuit says a courtroom briefly suspended Jackson’s parenting. Jackson agreed to a security plan. The lawsuit additionally claims that Avery’s foot was crushed by a bull at his grandfather’s home and that he later fell from a excessive playground construction, knocking out a few of his enamel whereas in Jackson’s care.
“If the jury knew any of the prior occasions, I’m positive we’d have a special consequence in the present day,” Dunphy mentioned.
When requested if the directed verdict in favor of the grandmother and Wednesday’s verdict gave trigger for concern relating to Kevin Owens’s trial subsequent month in district courtroom, Byers mentioned, “Every jury is completely different, each trial is completely different. Even although you have got an analogous truth sample, the involvement of various people, completely different defendants, it varies.
“We charged ahead with what we had as a result of Avery had been killed. That issues to everyone in my workplace.”
Jason Groves may be reached at 575-541-5459 or [email protected]. Follow him on X, previously Twitter, @jpgroves.
