Police mistake prompts mistrial in toddler's 2017 death

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A judge declared a mistrial in the case of a North Carolina man charged with killing a 22-month-old boy after the Raleigh Police Department failed to turn over evidence to the defense on time.

Michael Buchanan was charged with murder in the 2017 death of Torrance Adams. Buchanan, who was the boyfriend of the toddler’s mother, claimed the boy choked on a waffle and then hit his head on the sink.

The News & Observer reports that Judge Paul Ridgeway declared a mistrial in Buchanan’s trial on April 16, ruling that “a fair and impartial trial has become impossible due to prejudice to the defendant as a result of the late disclosure of the evidence,” according to court records.

The judge cited data from the cellphone of the boy’s mother, Marquise McCall. She gave consent to extract data from her phone March 13, 2019, which was placed on a hard drive in a Raleigh police detective’s desk and not uploaded to the department’s portal where such data is usually placed.

More than two years later, Assistant District Attorney Melanie Shekita asked police for the data, but they only found it on April 16, five days into the trial, the newspaper reported.

Buchanan, 26, was charged with child abuse after doctors discovered Torrance’s fractured skull. He was charged with murder after the toddler died. His trial started earlier this month.

Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said she expects the case will be reset for another trial, but declined to comment on the case.

The court found the detective’s explanation for misplacing the hard drive with the data credible. Misplacing the hard drive was negligent, but there was no evidence of intentional misconduct, according to court documents.

“I don’t understand how that wasn’t submitted with all the evidence,” said McCall, Torrance’s mother.

“It wasn’t just frustrating; it was hurtful,” McCall said. “Because I thought I would be getting closure, and now I have to start all over again.”