THE Office of the Attorney General’s criminal division, through Assistant Attorney General Coleen St. Clair, has filed a motion to dismiss with prejudice the child abuse charge against Lana Lynn Limes Fitial because of her passing from cancer.
The defendant passed away on Aug. 3, 2021, St. Clair said.
According to a court stipulation to vacate trial, Fitial’s lawyer, Assistant Public Defender Vina Seelam, learned on May 28, 2021 that the defendant had been diagnosed with stage IV oral cancer.
Seelam also received a letter from an oncologist, Dr. Peter Brett, on June 1, 2021, indicating that he would be referring Fitial for surgery and radiation treatment in Los Angeles within the next few weeks.
Based on this information, the parties agreed that the jury trial and all associated dates should be vacated.
Fitial, 45, and Stacey Laniyo, 37, were arrested following the death of a 3-year-old boy in March 2020. The boy was an adopted son of Fitial and was in the care of Laniyo.
Laniyo and Fitial were each charged with one count of child abuse.
According to the prosecution, Laniyo struck the boy with a tree branch, a broom, or her hand or by biting him, “resulting in injury clearly beyond the scope of reasonable corporal punishment and harming or threatening the child’s physical or mental health and well-being.”
As for Fitial, the prosecution said she failed to provide medical care for the boy resulting in his death.
On June 24, 2021, a jury found Laniyo guilty of one count of child abuse. Following the verdict, Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho remanded Laniyo to the custody of the Department of Corrections.
Laniyo, through attorney Mark Scoggins, filed a motion for a new trial on July 1, 2021, stating that she did not receive a fair trial because of “prosecutorial misconduct.”
Judge Camacho initially recused himself from hearing Laniyo’s motion for a new trial as he was concerned that there might be a conflict.
But on Sept. 27, 2021, Judge Kenneth L. Govendo reviewed the case and found that based on the law, there was no conflict and it was proper for Judge Camacho to handle the defendant’s motion for a new trial as well as continue to preside over the case.
Judge Camacho then scheduled a motion hearing on Laniyo’s motion for a new trial for Oct. 15, 2021 at 10 a.m.
The judge will also hold a sentencing hearing for Laniyo on the same day at 2:30 p.m. in Courtroom 220A.
