Tara and Jason Uutela learned at Phoenix Children's that doctors already were suspecting child abuse as the cause of their baby's dire condition.
Before the day ended, they also learned that Dillon's prognosis for survival was nil.
Dillon Uutela died on the evening of April 20 after he was taken off life support.
His body was taken to the Office of the Maricopa County Medical Examiner for an autopsy, after which the Uutelas held a funeral service in their native Washington.
In Peoria, police were sure they were investigating a murder — and that 47-year-old Lisa Randall, a woman with no criminal history and a spotless record as a loving caretaker of hundreds of children, was the killer.
Their suspicions got a boost months later when pathologist Kevin Horn of the local Medical Examiner's Office listed the baby's cause of death as "blunt-force trauma of head and neck."
The manner of death, according to Dr. Horn, was "homicide."
Skip ahead a few years from Dillon's death in April 2007 to a Superior Court hearing in the case of State of Arizona vs. Lisa Randall.
Randall was arrested on first-degree murder and child-abuse charges in November 2007, shortly after Dr. Horn issued his chilling postmortem report. Her tortured legal saga would take her in and out of custody (seven months in all) and, until recently, she had been staring at a death sentence if convicted.
The courtroom for the June 2008 hearing is packed with people there to support her. Randall's backers consist of far more than her five grown children (she is divorced from their father and separated from her second husband) and other family members.
She is charged with murdering a helpless 16-pound baby who was in her sole care and custody for about an hour.
Yet she has supporters who include the parents of many of the children whom Randall babysat on the day Dillon stopped breathing at her home.
The diminutive Randall sits on a front-row bench holding hands with her youngest child, 18-year-old Brenna. She pulls together a brief, tired smile for those around her and then looks straight ahead, wearing a quietly forlorn expression.
Jason and Tara Uutela sit on the other side of the courtroom, next to a victim's advocate provided by the Maricopa County Attorney's Office. The couple has been convinced that Lisa Randall's guilty since the doctors at Phoenix Children's in April 2007 first invoked the words "child abuse."
Randall has been out of jail on $160,000 bond since June 2008, released on house arrest after Superior Court Judge Gary Donahoe ruled that the murder case against her, though it reached the low probable-cause threshold allowing it to proceed, seemed less than solid to him.
"I know the state doesn't have to prove any motive," Judge Donahoe said from the bench, "but . . . I don't see any motive in this case. Ms. Randall has been in this business for, what, 26 years, or something. There's no indication that she was mad or upset, no indication that she just had a fight with her husband or any of those children. I mean, what's leading up to this shaken baby, dropping the kid on the floor, or slamming the kid on the floor?"
Donahoe, considered a prosecution-leaning judge by most, concluded at the June 2008 hearing, "I can see this as a not-guilty verdict at trial."
Since her release that month from jail, Lisa Randall has been forced to wear an ankle bracelet at all times. She works at a supermarket during the day and takes care of a man who has Lou Gehrig's disease.
Then she goes home, which is a room she shares with her daughter Brenna at a residence whose location they prefer to keep private.
Lisa is not allowed under the terms of her release to be alone with her seven grandchildren.
Many child-abuse cases include valid confessions, overwhelming physical and circumstantial evidence of wrongdoing, and other factors that make it apparent that defendants are guilty.
But a New Times analysis suggests that the murder case against Lisa Randall isn't in that mold.
Instead, the reasons that Dillon Uutela died remain shrouded in medical controversy, with experts disagreeing vehemently on critical aspects of the evidence.
Several questions hover over the case.
One is whether the infant was the victim of child abuse at all.
To some medical experts involved in the case, Dillon may suffered from an underlying disease (possibly leukemia) that triggered the internal events that led to his death.
Another expert opined earlier this year that, as one doctor later suspected, "a SIDS-like event [led] to respiratory, and then cardiac arrest."
"I don't believe that anyone hurt Dillon on purpose or accidentally," Lisa Randall's attorney, David Cantor, said last week. "As much or more than any client I have ever represented, I truly believe that my client is as innocent — actually innocent — of this crime."
But the County Attorney's Office had contended since late 2007 that Randall was a monster of the highest order.
Others disagreed that the methodology used to charge people like Lisa Randall was valid.
DePaul University law professor Deborah Tuerkheimer concluded in a 2009 journal article titled "The Next Innocence Project: Shaken Baby Syndrome and the Criminal Courts" that recent scientific research has cast doubt on that "triad" noted earlier: the bleeding and swelling in the brain and retinal hemorrhaging.
Its interesting to hear Lisa say nothing like this ever happened to her before, but how can she froget that it has? This is the second baby to die under Lisa's watchful care. The first baby was also thought to have died from SIDS. How do you forget that? She is not the saint she has been made out to be here.
Viral Syndrome my ass! Vaccine injury. See the article by Harold Buttram, MD "The Stepchildren of Modern Medicine, as Applied to Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS)/Non-accidental Injury (NAI)"
He explains the mechanism. Severe Vitamin C deficiency following vaccination. There are lots of references. http://www.vaccinationcouncil....
A pre-Internet murder mystery set on Cape Cod in the 1980s, "Hide and Seek" tells a murder mystery backwards: we know the identity of the ...
The killer attacked eight people, killing five. The Phantom Killer was never caught nor identified. The Moonlight Murders are considered as a cold case. ...
Phoenix Childrens hospital did the same thing to my family. It took me 3 years 4 months to find out what really happened to my granddaughter she has a genetic disorder called mirochondrial myopathy. surprise & el mirage police picked & picked at my son till they could put him in jail for something. I blame those police & pch for everything that's happened to my family. I've tried to find a lawyer to go against pch but no one wants to go against pch. so I guess they get to keep wrongfully accusing people of shaken baby syndrome. I wouldn't take my dog to this hospital!!!!
Being a parent myself, my heart goes out to the parents of this baby. My heart also goes out to this poor woman. I hope that she will not spend the rest of her life fighting this horrible stigma. I could not imagine going through those interrogations, the threats I'm sure she received from strangers, the feeling that so many people believe you did something that you didn't do. I just can't imagine. If she wouldn't have had the love and support (financial and emotional) that she got from her family and close friends, she would probably be on death row by now. I wish her the best, and I hope she lives a happy life.
The government uses us "American's" as TEST PROJECTS, like rats in a lab, we are being studied. Population control as well last but never very least control period!
There are thousands of parents and daycare workers in U.S. prisons after being convicted of SHAKING A BABY. There stories are all the same. There isnt any broken necks or bruises. It is brain hemorrhaging from vaccines. It states on the vaccine package insert that brain hemorrhaging occurs. Doctors make this diagnosis and call police without doing any further test. They never want to blame vaccines because their business thrives on the damage they create. They win in court cause everyone trust the doctor. This FALSE ACCUSATION has gone on for 20 years and it has never been proven. Elizabeth Whittle is still in prison after being sentenced to 150 years for shaking her new quadruplets in 1999. She is INNOCENT also. The doctors gave her 3lb babies a HepB shot when they arent suppose to get any until they are at normal birth weight. I cant believe they get away with M
I'm not going to argue about your accusations I'm just going to ask a question. How many children would die if they wern't immunized against deadly diseases like polio, smallpox, hep a, hep b, measles, mumps, rubella, typhoid, diptheria, etc, etc.?
This case is the doctors fault, you are NEVER suppose to give a baby vaccines when they have been sick with an earache. A babies immune system is not developed to handle 2 different assaults. Vaccines contain many toxic chemicals. Alluminum, Formaldehyde, Polyethylene Glycol, Phenol and Mercury. Babies are having more reactions now than ever. They are also giving more vaccines than ever. Its not COMMON SENSE or NATURAL to inject these disgusting things into a baby. VACCINES CAUSE SIDS AND SBS
First, my heart goes out to Dillon's parents. Being a parent myself, I can imagine how devastating it must be to lose a child.
Second, I think it is an absolute shame that the pediatrician did not recognize how sick this child was. It is too bad that insurance companies, in the spirit of saving costs, discourage doctors to run necessary tests to properly diagnose patients. Perhaps Dillon would be alive today if the pediatrician had a clue. I'm giving the pediatrician the benefit of the doubt here, and assuming that the failure to comprehend the seriousness of Dillon's condition was not due to negligence or incompetence.
Finally, I think it is absolutely appalling that it took our legal system over three years to finally figure out that this case should be dismissed. I suspect that Lisa’s life has been ruined. She should not have had to spend one day in prison. What ever happened to “innocent until proven guilty”? What happened to our sixth amendment “right to a speedy and public trial”? Shame on everyone involved, the detectives, the medical experts, and the prosecuting attorneys for their negligence, incompetence, maliciousness, and/or their dishonesty throughout this tragic travesty. And the public foots the bill for this blatant injustice, and will likely pay even more when this poor woman sues the pants off of these circus clowns. It is time for some major reform!
The police in this Valley of the Sun are extremely incompetent. Obviously the medical examiner is too as they did not even do a proper autopsy. I have been a victim of the police here not doing their job correctly. Too many badge heavy police with egos trying to make a name for themselves same as the med examiner and the hospital. This poor woman, since she was last with baby let's just blame her? What the hell is that? The incompetency that goes on in police departments as well as prosecutors etc. should all be made aware to the people of this valley and people better take warning, this could happen to you.
It's happened to our family . The legal system in AZ is just WRONG! A very unhappy/cheating wife made her daughter lie to the police there and said my brother molested her . They arrested him & charged him with 8+ acts to a child , no examination was done and the girl ( stepdaughter ) changed her story multiple times ! CPS took the girl and guess where her mom went? She left the state and left her kid in CPS's care while she went to her boyfriends home in Chicago. Wendy Dutton also testified at my brothers trial as an EXPERT WITNESS ( BS ) , what she didn't tell the court was that , there was another child in that home who gave a statement that nothing happened but THEY forgot to push the record button when they interviewed her . We couldn't afford a lawyer so his fate was left in the hands of AZ courts . They gave him 63 years for crimes he did not do . So to read this story , I can honestly say that I know what nightmare her family went through ... My deepest condolences to the Dillon's family , I'm very sorry for your loss . Lisa , I hope that life treats you so much better these days , it's not easy to FORGET but I hope you can get past that nightmare and start living your life again with family and friends who obviously adore you . God Bless ,Chicago Family
This woman's life is ruined forever! Too bad the law has people working for it that are more intended on winning a badge of fame than actually finding the truth! This state, in it's courtrooms, over and over again, has ignored the law itself in determining a verdict. Judges, prosecuting attorneys, etc... there should be an investigation of Arizona in general, it's disgusting.
I'm not even finished reading the entire article and know from experience the rediculous crap this poor woman has suffered. Now, I wasn't there and don't know all of the details, but can tell you Phoenix Children's Hospital gets paid to try to incriminate innocent parents and caregivers and that it is part of their policy. I can see these damned doctors trying to make a name for themselves instead of using their medical knowledge to give THE FACTS! I know because my now 5 year old son was once given one bite of a peanut butter sandwhich while I was away at work. My sister was his sitter at the time. I never leave my son in any care provider's hands for a full day eventhough I pay full price day care. I was not told until I called to say I was running late that day, that my son had had an allergic reaction. When the scenario was explained to me I knew immediately my child had had an anaphylactic reaction to the peanut butter. My sister assured me he was fine. When I arrived I saw contusions and swelling consistent with a suddenb histamine reaction. Eventhough hours later my child was still quite swollen across the entire region of the face. My sister and back up sitter had only monitored him, reporting there had been no irregularities in his breathing. They had not sought emergency medical attention and had used home remedies to abate the condition. I thought, saw and reacted differently. I took him to Phoenix Children's Hospital along with the child's father. We arrived approximately 6 hours after initial onset of the condition which I wasn't even made aware of until after the first 4 hours and that being by phone.
Upon arriving I made the intake nurse aware of the condition of adverse reaction to a food stuff. I was treated incredulously for having the ability to possess medical knowledge of my child's injuries. To the point of being bullied by the attending nurse. I finally confronted the nurse and told him I would not be harrassed or challenged and would kindly wait for the doctor. When the doctor (not doctor in training) arrived he diagnosed my son with peanut allergy and prescribed appropriate meds along with an epi pen I have to this day!
Having thought I was rudely received, but yet also havingg received excellent and immediate care I thought we'd be leaving. To my surprise I was made to passively wait for nearly an hour for what I thought was a simple paper release since we had already received meds. To my surprise, another doctor, who was not a part of the original assessment team walked in, introduced himself and began to ask surreptitious questions. At first, I did not know what was going on, but then it hit me! I had been flagged for possible child abuse because I brought my child to a hospital that is PAID to imply child abuse on innocent victims to continue to receive funding. SO even when their is NO LEGITIMATE concern of child abuse, the hospital and many of the doctor's FABRICATE it so their filthy pockets get filled!!!!
For those unfortunate victims who comply, the ball of was only gets bigger. I stopped it immediately, confronting that doctor as well. I told him I would not participate in his profiling of a Woman of Color since I brought my child immediately to the hospital to get help for his condition as I am not a doctor and can't prescribe an epi pen!
Granted, there are people who might mask symptoms, but generally their cover ups can be seen straight through with those who have medical knowledge. The doctor doesn't normally walk in and agree with the condition of fact, find the exact symptoms match the described incident, etc. I walked out on the sneaky idiot and I have a feeling this grandmother could have done the same waaaaay up front and saved her and her family a lot of heartache! Cooperating with idiots never insures your sanity or freedoms. Though I think the woman in this article should NOT have been watching 11 children at one time alone (and of course who can be sure that potential fact has been accurately reported even), still, my heart goes out to her, the deceased and fam as well as the frightening circumstance she has found herself in. I hope she sues the bastards!!!
My daughter is a victim of shaken baby syndrom... the same thing happened to my daughter that happened to Dillion, symptom wise. She was being abused by her father and had many of the symptoms. She had a dr visit two weeks prior with a "viral infection" and then had the subdurial bleeding in her brain. The first hospital did a CT scan and an MRI on her and immediately flew us to a children's hospital. Of course I was the one who took her so I was immediately questioned. Then, they questioned her father. She has many, many difficulties today. I am very fortuntate that she did not pass unlike baby Dillon. I know that Lisa may not have done this, but it looks like maybe a parent? There were three people and it looks like only the last one was throughly looked at......
What a tragic story. My heart goes out to Dillon's family, Lisa and her family as well. This woman did not hurt this sweet little baby. I would bet my own life on it. I hope someday soon all will be at peace with this.
Where'd all the comments go? No more option to 'Show more'? These new boards need a little fixin'.
She had one baby die in her care before. Why was that never brought up? And as far as her saying that her only brush with the law was when she was 16? That is a bald face LIE. She had police called on her for BEATING HER OWN NIECE. The police officer that responded to that 911 call was her neighbor, who let her leave without so much as a warning. Lisa and her family are a bunch of liars and manipulators.
Wow. You are so full of shit. Not one thing you just said is accurate. You clearly have all of this wrong. You have no sources, because your information is incorrect. Give it up already.
I have to wonder who would feel the need to make stuff up. It seems like all of her former clients like her and many came to her defense, and while it doesn't specify how the parents of Dillon feel now, it sure doesn't sound like they're vindictive, and it sounds like they may be questioning her guilt as well.
How can anyone look after 11 children? This is ridiculous. I had one child and looked after her day and night. It was a full-time job. Ten other kids would have put me in an institution. And, of course I was at home all the time.
Wow... horrible choice of graphic. What else can you expect from a free publication who's "paper" consists of mostly tattoo parlor ads and bar specials. With your main demographic being drunken students about to fail out of college after finding out their one night stand is/got them pregnant, you probably don't have to worry about offending anyone, right?
The Medical community would rather put a parent or daycare worker in prison than admit the thousands of children every year die from unnessesary vaccinations and even more are mentally damaged or their immune systems are damaged beyond repair. This is the biggest tradgedy in America today.
Find everything you're looking for in your city
Find the best happy hour deals in your city
Get today's exclusive deals at savings of anywhere from 50-90%
Check out the hottest list of places and things to do around your city
