HONOLULU (KHON2) — Dixie Denise Villa, convicted last November on manslaughter charges for killing 7-month-old Abigail Lobisch, sat stone faced as the judge denied her motion for a new trial.
Villa’s attorney argued that false testimony and mishandled evidence had undermined her right to a fair trial.
Anna Lobisch’s ex-husband and father to Abigail, testified that Lobisch lied when she said she did not sleep in the same bed with their children, saying that was simply not true.
“I know it sounds crazy, but I wanted to Denise to have a fair trial. I believe she was guilty, but I didn’t want her to have a guilty verdict because somebody lied,” Abigail’s father said.
Honolulu Police Detective Ryan Kaio, also admitted he saw an email from a possible witness, Valerie Barnes, during the investigation, but didn’t believe it was relevant to the case.
Prosecutors called Anna Lobisch back to the stand. She denied lying, saying the live photo attorneys introduced showed her awake with her two children, not asleep. She also rejected claims of texting about taking her two children to Valerie Barnes because of anxiety, although she disclosed in court that she had a miscarriage.
Villa’s attorney, Megan Kau, aggressively cross-examined Anna Lobisch, pointing to what she said were inconsistencies in her testimony and argued that the government had withheld evidence showing she could have been the one to issue a lethal dose of Dyphenhydramine rather than Villa.
“Because it could have helped the defense, the government had an obligation, an absolute obligation, to turn it over. I didn’t and therefore a new trial is warranted,” Kau said.
But ultimately, the judge agreed with prosecutors that the new evidence and testimony would not have changed the trial’s outcome.
“At the end of the day, this trial was based on the evidence including the cause of the death and the testimony of the medical experts and the evidence that did come out at trial and we strongly believe in the verdict that the jury did reach,” said Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Tiffany Kaeo.
Villa now faces sentencing on May 7. Her attorney says they plan to appeal the conviction after sentencing.