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Mother’s conviction overturned

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WAYNESBURG – The state Superior Court overturned the guilty verdict against a Dilliner woman convicted last year of endangering her infant daughter, who suffered multiple broken bones and injuries at the hands of her father.

The court returned its judgment Tuesday vacating Ashley Renee Cordwell’s conviction in January 2015 of child endangerment and reckless endangerment.

Cordwell’s 2-month-old daughter suffered fractures to her ribs, legs and arms July 30, 2013, with X-rays showing at least 18 bone breaks in various stages of healing. Charges were filed against Cordwell, now 21, in December 2013, nearly five months after doctors at Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, W.Va., reported to authorities the suspected abuse of the girl.

A Greene County jury convicted Cordwell following a two-day trial in January 2015. She was sentenced in April 2015 to serve a county intermediate punishment sentence of 60 days to 23 ½ months.

Rachel Wheeler, who represented Cordwell during her trial and subsequent appeal, called the Superior Court’s ruling “absolutely the right decision.” Wheeler said Cordwell served no jail time because Greene County Judge Farley Toothman granted a stay while the appeal was heard.

“They agreed with our strongest argument that there wasn’t sufficient evidence that she had any knowledge,” Wheeler said. “The evidence at trial was that she didn’t know or could have known.”

Wheeler said Cordwell took the child to the hospital multiple times following the girl’s birth in May 2013, but doctors told her they could find nothing wrong with the child.

“I’m just really, really happy that it finally happened for her after we fought for many years to get this result,” Wheeler said.

The child’s father, Bobby Jarond Sammons, now 26, was sentenced to serve 2 to 5 years in prison after pleading guilty in August 2014 to charges of a parent or guardian endangering the welfare of children, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person. Sammons admitted to breaking the child’s leg, although he claimed it was an accident.

In its opinion in Cordwell’s case, the Superior Court pointed to testimony by doctors that the girl was “a healthy, thriving baby girl at all of her visits” and that prosecutors produced no evidence Cordwell knew of any injuries prior to the July 2013 visit. The court also stated Cordwell was not “fully awake” when the most serious injury occurred to the child’s leg, and she found Sammons applying ice to the injury.

The court stated the prosecution failed to meet the burden of proof in the case. District Attorney Marjorie Fox said Wednesday she could not discuss the ruling.

“Obviously, the Superior Court has ruled, so I really can’t comment on their determination,” Fox said.

Wheeler said her client is now living in West Virginia and did not have custody of the child. She did not know if the court’s decision could change the situation with Children and Youth Services.

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