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Mum, soon to be the first Australian woman on death row in the US, is dealt another devastating blow before her trial for allegedly killing her daughter with the help of a detective husband.
- The murder trial of an Australian mother was delayed by 18 months in the US.
- Woman accused of killing her seven-year-old daughter
- Could face execution on first degree murder charge
The trial of an Adelaide mother facing the grim prospect of being the first Australian woman on death row in the US has been delayed 18 months after waiting five years in jail.
Lisa Marie Cunningham, 48, is charged with the first-degree murder of her seven-year-old daughter Sanaa in her adopted hometown of Phoenix, which is the capital of the state of Arizona in the southwestern United States.
If convicted, she and her co-defendant husband Germayne, 43, a former Arizona robbery squad detective, could face the death penalty.
After appearing before Judge Geoffrey Fish, Ms Cunningham was told that her trial, which was due to start last week in Phoenix Maricopa County Superior Court, has been adjourned until at least September next year.
‘I’m crying. I have some serious health problems due to the conditions of detention and treatment,” a devastated Cunningham said. The Adelaide Advertiser after the decision.
Australian mother Lisa Marie Cunningham (pictured) faces execution for the death of her seven-year-old daughter in 2017
Ms. Cunningham, a former prison guard, spoke from the maximum security wing of the Estrella Women’s Jail, located in the desert near Phoenix.
She said that the delay in the trial was haunting her, but the judge explained that there was no choice but to delay her trial because the covid pandemic had created a backlog of cases.
“(The judge) said that several cases should go before mine because they are older… and mine going before it is unfair,” he said.
‘I have not fully processed or accepted the 19 month delay at this location. I did not agree with the delay. My lawyer (lawyer) asked me if he was okay with that in court.
‘I did not present the delay. I had no choice.’
Cunningham’s attorney, Eric Kessler, said Cunningham was “reasonably well under the circumstances.”
“She’s very active on her defense and she’s pretty bright,” he said.
Australian consular assistance is being provided to Ms Cunningham and the Australian government has expressed opposition to the death penalty.
The trial of Ms. Cunningham and her husband was originally set for September 2020, but that too has been pushed back due to the pandemic.
Sanaa had more than 60 scars with 100 cuts and bruises, as well as various ulcers and abscesses when she died at Phoenix Children’s Hospital in February 2017.
Prosecutors allege that Sanaad, who suffered from severe schizophrenia and other medical conditions, died of sepsis from head and foot injuries related to his living conditions.
Ms Cunningham claims that she is the victim of judicial error and that the authorities set her up to avoid a costly civil lawsuit over the girl’s death.
Lisa-Marie Cunningham (pictured with Sanaa on the right and another child) has insisted that she and her husband are innocent of their son’s death.
Ms Cunningham’s American husband, Germayne, 43, is a former Phoenix robbery squad detective who is now facing trial with her on first-degree murder charges.
She says that Saana died of pneumonia because the couple followed incorrect medical advice.
Ms Cunningham has two children from her first marriage, including Sanaa, as does her husband, and the couple have two other children of their own.
The indictment alleges the couple restrained Sanaa by tying her up so she couldn’t expel fluid from her lungs, which led to her death.
Police allege they found incriminating texts between the couple, including one from December 2016 that describes how they tied the girl to a container of water to let other children sleep.
Cunningham claimed the text messages were forged and were not on her phone the day Sanaa died months later.
An autopsy found Sanaa’s death to be ‘indeterminate’ rather than homicide.