February 22, 2001|By Lisa Goldberg | Lisa Goldberg,SUN STAFF
As a 911 operator instructed her in the basics of CPR, Kathleen A. Butcher - the panic evident in her voice - called out to the lifeless child on the floor of her North Laurel home again and again:
"Alexa. Alexa," she sobbed into the phone. "Oh, my God. Alexa."
While the tape of that 911 call played in Howard County Circuit Court yesterday, Butcher, the North Laurel day care provider charged with murder in the November 1999 death of one of her charges, 15-month-old Alexa Shearer, dabbed at her eyes and wiped her nose. A few of Alexa's relatives in the front row buried their heads in their hands.
The tape, introduced into evidence on the first day of testimony in Butcher's murder trial in Ellicott City, provided a bit of drama yesterday in a case that is expected to hinge largely on the opinions of experts.
Both sides noted during opening arguments yesterday that Butcher was the only adult in the house when Alexa stopped breathing on Nov. 16, 1999. The oldest of the eight children Butcher was caring for that day was 5 years old.
"Experts have a particularly important role here, because nobody was present during the critical hours alleged by the state except the defendant and the children, most of whom were too young to be credible," defense attorney Joel M. Abramson said.
Butcher, a mother of four who ran a day care center in her home in the 9400 block of Sewall Ave., is accused of killing Alexa by shaking her and causing a blow to her head. The little girl was taken to Children's National Medical Center in Washington, where she was declared brain dead Nov. 18, 1999.
Butcher, 37, has been charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter, child abuse and assault in the case.
Both Abramson and Assistant State's Attorney Danielle Duclaux agreed yesterday that a brain injury caused by abuse is what killed Alexa, but they disagreed on who inflicted the injuries - and when.
The little girl apparently felt well enough to eat a breakfast of Cheerios, peaches and milk and a lunch of chicken casserole with green beans early in the day, Duclaux said.
And while Butcher told police officers that Alexa was fine until lunchtime, the medical experts, including the medical examiner, have said her injuries were so "massive" that she wouldn't have acted normally after they were inflicted, Duclaux said.
At the very least, Alexa would have been listless and irritable. More likely, Duclaux said, Alexa would have lost consciousness immediately.
"The medical evidence in this case is very important," she said.
Abramson said police rushed to judgment, identifying Butcher as their lone suspect as soon as a medical examiner ruled Alexa's death a homicide. Also, he said, the accusations resulted from an "incomplete, lazy, sloppy" investigation.
The medical examiner allowed a transplant team to harvest Alexa's heart, liver and kidneys before an autopsy, he said. Abramson also said he disagreed that the injuries would have been apparent immediately after they were inflicted, and he pointed to an old wound - a broken rib - discovered while Alexa was hospitalized.
"Our client is innocent," he said. "She has been wrongfully accused."
