Split lip could be inadmissible evidence

The witness testimony regarding the split lip of a 3-year-old child that was mistaken for a cleft palate could be found inadmissible after the witness admitted in court that she didn’t see the actual incident of the suspect punching the child in the face.

The jury trial of Stacey Lani Laniyo, a woman charged with child abuse over the death of a 3-year-old boy, entered its sixth day and concluded in the explosive revelation: that the prosecution entered a crucial statement into evidence that they possibly knew was inadmissible to begin with.

During defense counsel Mark Scoggins’ cross-examination of a minor who lived with Laniyo and the 3-year-old boy six months prior to his death, it was revealed that her testimony of having seen Laniyo punch the child in the face causing his split lip never happened.

The minor, who was one of the prosecution’s key witnesses, admitted that she didn’t actually see Laniyo punch the 3-year-old. Instead, the deceased child allegedly told her about being punched in the face when he was alive.

The witness also admitted that she told the prosecution, led by assistant attorney general Coleen St. Clair, that she didn’t actually see the punch but, instead, heard about it from the victim, making it a hearsay statement. However, the prosecution allegedly went ahead and made her testify about it in court as if she had seen it.

Hearsay evidence is not admissible in court unless the court decides otherwise. This means that even if a statement is really hearsay, it may still be admissible if the court makes an exception.

Prior to the cross-examination, the witness testified before the jury that she saw Laniyo punch the child so hard it caused his lip to split.

In addition, she testified about Laniyo biting the child, about bruising she saw on the child’s body, and about Laniyo locking the child in their room for days at a time.

Aside from the minor child, the prosecution also called to the stand the child’s grandmother, Lourdes Fitial, and other relatives of Laniyo’s partner, Lynn Fitial, including her sisters-in-law, Cecilia Taitano, and Leva Fitial.

The witnesses all testified about the bruises they observed on the child and the acts of abuse Laniyo did to the child like biting his fingers, hitting him with a broom, and locking him in the bedroom for days.