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Baltimore man stands trial a third time on charges of child’s murder
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BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Two times, Baltimore City juries have heard the evidence against Erik Stoddard. Two times, they have chosen to convict him of the second-degree murder of his girlfriend’s 3-year-old daughter, Calen Dirubbo.
But after each conviction, judges have intervened, agreeing with Stoddard’s attorney’s arguments that technical violations during the trials render his convictions void.
This week, Baltimore City prosecutors took on Stoddard, 27, yet again.
“The defendant took out his anger on Calen,” prosecutor Julie Drake told the jury during opening arguments in Stoddard’s third trial on the same charges. “The defendant punched Calen in the abdomen repeatedly and with tremendous force.”
On June 15, 2002, Calen Dirubbo was pronounced dead at her home in the 2500 block of Moore Avenue in Northeast Baltimore, where she lived with her mother and Stoddard, prosecutors said.
Calen died as a result of multiple beatings over at least a month and the fatal blow severed her bowel, according to prosecutors, who said they proved Stoddard was the only adult with Calen when the fatal blow occurred.
Calen was a “cheerful, outgoing little girl” until early 2002 when Stoddard began dating her mother and moved into her home, Drake said.
Then “bruises and injuries” began to appear on Calen’s body, she said.
“The defendant was impatient and uninterested in the caring for children,” Drake said.
Drake said Calen’s mother knew Stoddard was abusing her daughter, but did nothing to stop him. She was never charged.
But Stoddard’s attorney, Gregory Fisher, declared his client innocent – and told jurors Calen’s stepfather was probably to blame for the toddler’s injuries.
“Mr. Stoddard is nothing more than a scapegoat,” Fisher said.
Stoddard was last sentenced to 60 years in prison.
Appellate judges first overturned his conviction because the first trial judge allowed hearsay testimony from Calen’s 18-month-old cousin Jasmine Pritchett, who asked, “Is Erik going to get me?”
The second time, a judge vacated the jury’s verdict because jurors were never asked if they could be fair to a defendant from another race. Stoddard is white.
The trial is expected to continue today.
lbroadwater@baltimoreexaminer.com
Comments from Examiner Readers
5:28 PM MST on Thu., Jun. 19, 2008 re: "Man convicted 3 times in death of girl vows to win on fourth appeal"
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Examiner Reader said:
PLEASE Put this scum in with the General Population!!!
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Examiner Reader said:
I will keep this young girl and her family in my prayers. Brenda Loving Baltimore, MD
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na na na na hey hey hey goodbye said:
36 jurors, 3 judges, a medical examiner, several witnesses, one psycho girlfriend/mother. The key ingredients to the biggest conspiracy in the Maryland court system in history....no seriously, this is sad that the family had to suffer for 7 years. Not only did they have to relive the horrifying details and photos of the case they had to sit and watch Calens mother betray her daughter over and over and over again. Three cases three guilty verdicts. In my opinion justice was only half served! Lets all pray Cheryl isn't far behind Eric, if she's in jail then society won't have to worry about her having more kids and going out to dinner rather then taking her dying kids to the hospital.
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Examiner Reader said:
The Undertaker said: I wonder what will happen at the 4th trial." Ill tell you what will happen. The state will reach into all our pockets and pay a big whopping attorney bills, for both sides. Who is the loser here? The stupid tax payer who continues to let this criminal justice system continue.
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Examiner Reader said:
The convicted is obviously smarter than State law, otherwise he would be dead by now. Do we have a criminal justice system? Or, do we baby the killers and kill the babies? You decide.
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Examiner Reader said:
This is one big, stupid mess. Stoddard's first case was overturned on a confrontation clause technicality. A then-18-month-old girl likely witnessed Erik fatally beating Calen and the statements she made to her mother were initially admitted, but the conviction was reversed because there was no way to cross-examine the little girl. Stoddard cowered under the 6th Amendment. Also, it should be noted that the little girl made no mention of the other adult who was allegedly in Calen's presence on the date of her death. She was only afraid, or concerned, with Erik "getting" her. So even without the girl's statements, 2 additional juries have managed to convict this guy. Gee, maybe they're onto something.... There's such a thing as reasonable doubt, yes, but what should trump any such doubt in this case is COMMON SENSE. Look at the facts objectively. A defense attorney's job is to try and poke holes in the prosecutions's theories but possibilities are not the same as probabilities
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The Undertaker said:
I wonder what will happen at the 4th trial.
1 agree | 2 disagree
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3Jurys3Convictions said:
The only broken thing about this legal system is that it gives the defendant more consideration than the family. This poor family has had to go through this 3 times. He did NOT admit to frequently beating the child. He spanked her. He was at the impound lot 2 TIMES that day(once to pay to get it out and once to pick the car up outside of the lot)and both accounts were accurate. Based on the medical/scientific evidence- even with giving the defendant the benefit of the doubt on a lot of things-Stoddard was the only one with her at the time of injury. Stoddard also has prior convictions for assaults- on women at that. Seems like he likes to abuse the weak. I guess it is your theory that a large number of witnesses including the medical examiner, and 3 different jurys all conspired against Stoddard. Give me a break.
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Examiner Reader said:
I hope the jurors feel like idiots for not convicting on the 2nd degree murder charge.
3 agree | 1 disagree
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Justice for All said:
This case is the poster child for the broken Maryland legal system. The facts are that the child was in the care of several adults on the day she died, not just Erik Stoddard. There is no testimony that Erik ever disciplined Calen. Nick Deiter, who was originally arrested for the crime, openly admitted in court that he beat the child frequently, and sometimes so severely he bruised her on several occasions. However, Nick escaped prosecution using an arrival time based on the release of his car from an impound lot (despite testimony from others to the contrary). In the third trial, testimony produced from the impound lot showed Nick committed perjury, and that he actually did arrive much earlier than he originally testified. When confronted, he broke down in the trial and admitted to everything except the actual killing Calen. In the mean time, Erik Stoddard has sat in prison for six years while the State withheld evidence and trampled on the legal process. The legal system is broken.
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Examiner Reader said:
If the mother knew, she should be charged
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The Undertaker said:
Maybe this time it will be tried by a judge who isn't mentally retarded.
3 agree | 7 disagree
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