Another trial begins today for Syracuse mother charged with assault

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Another trial begins today for Syracuse mother charged with assault

Dr. Dorr Dearborn, a national expert on the hazards of mold, is expected to be a

key witness, according to defense lawyer Keller. Dearborn, who authored

a study on the impact of mold exposure on children in Cleveland, previously

filed an affidavit contending a's case should have been treated medically

and not prosecuted.

http://www.syracuse.com/crime/index.ssf?/base/policeblotter-1/1236588932252961.x\

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Charged with assaulting baby, she claims moldy clothing was the culprit.

Monday, March 09, 2009

By Jim O'Hara

Staff writer

The Post-Standard Mon, 09 Mar 2009 02:17 AM PDT

Whether a Syracuse baby was injured by exposure to mold - or assaulted by her

mother - will be up for discussion as the mother's new trial begins today.

Everson Gallishaw, 25, of Furman Street, is facing charges of

first-degree assault and endangering the welfare of a child based on allegations

she tried to smother her 7-week-old daughter, a, in May 2000.

The defense contends the baby's injuries resulted from her clothing being

exposed to toxic mold when laundered in the basement of her grandmother's home.

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Dr. Dorr Dearborn, a national expert on the hazards of mold, is expected to be a

key witness, according to defense lawyer Keller. Dearborn, who authored

a study on the impact of mold exposure on children in Cleveland, previously

filed an affidavit contending a's case should have been treated medically

and not prosecuted.

Gallishaw was convicted in 2001.

Brunetti overturned that conviction in November 2001, ruling he made a mistake

in allowing Dr. Jumbelic, the county medical examiner, to express an

opinion about the cause of the infant's injury that was based on hearsay.

An appellate court in Rochester voted 3-2 to reinstate the conviction in 2003

and the state's highest court affirmed that decision later the same year.

Brunetti then sentenced Gallishaw as a youthful offender to five years'

probation with 30 days in jail.

Last April, Brunetti overturned the conviction a second time. In a 42-page

decision, he concluded Gallishaw might not have been convicted had the jury seen

photographs of her baby's clothing in the grandmother's mold-infested basement.

The prosecution had contended there was no proof Gallishaw ever did her

daughter's laundry at the grandmother's home. But two years ago, defense lawyers

discovered the photographs that had been taken when a city police officer and

medical examiner's office employee visited the basement 10 days after a was

hospitalized in 2000.