Attorney: Former death row inmate Lamont Hunter could be released on bond by end of month
The deputy coroner who changed her opinion in Lamont Hunter’s death penalty case, leading prosecutors to agree to a new trial, may re-evaluate that opinion, according to testimony Friday.
Retired Cincinnati police detective Jenny Luke said she had been told that Hamilton County Deputy Coroner Dr. Gretel Stephens “wants to go back to her original” finding that the boy Hunter is accused of killing in 2006 was a victim of a homicide.
It was Stephens’ testimony at a 2021 deposition that ultimately led prosecutors to agree to vacate Hunter’s convictions on charges of aggravated murder, child endangering and rape and have a new trial. Stephens, who initially ruled that 3-year-old Trustin Blue’s death was a homicide, said at the deposition, which was part of his appeal, that the manner of death was undetermined. Stephens also said that injuries to Trustin she previously attributed to sexual assault were accidentally inflicted by hospital staff trying to insert a thermometer into his rectum.
Stephens’ opinion changed based on evidence she previously hadn’t been given.
A joint motion for a new trial was filed last month.
A hearing Friday in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court surrounded whether Hunter – who was on Ohio’s death row for more than 15 years – could be released on bond while he awaits the new trial. But no decision was made because prosecutors asked for a continuance.
Assistant Prosecutor Seth Tieger told Judge Christian Jenkins that the county coroner’s office is re-reviewing the entire case, including more than 700 pages of records from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.
One of Hunter’s attorney’s, Al Gerhardstein, told reporters it was work that should have been done 16 years ago.
“We’re going to wait it out. We don’t believe it’s going to change anything,” Gerhardstein said outside the courtroom. “And we believe he’ll be out on bond by the end of the month.”
The hearing is set to continue May 31.
It was also revealed at Friday’s hearing that prosecutors have offered Hunter a plea deal that would apparently lead to his release. As part of the plea deal, he would be sentenced to the time he already has spent in prison.
The injuries that led to Trustin’s death happened the morning of Jan. 18, 2006.
Hunter said he was in the basement of the house in Carthage he shared with Trustin’s mother and her four children. He said he was doing laundry when Trustin tumbled down the basement stairs and landed on the concrete floor.
Hunter told police he tried to revive Trustin, who was unresponsive, attempted CPR, and called Trustin’s mother who worked at a nearby Speedway. When she got home, she called 911.
But according to testimony Friday, Hunter’s statements about what happened have not been consistent.
Luke, who was one of the lead investigators on the case, said Hunter never called his girlfriend. It was the girlfriend who called him four times that morning.
Luke also described how Hunter two years earlier blamed injuries to Trustin on a fall down some stairs. Prosecutors said Trustin in 2004 was found to have fractures, both acute and healing, to his hands, feet and legs.
Hunter’s explanations follow a pattern, Luke said.
“Every incident involves steps,” Luke said. “Every incident involves him.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Ex-death row inmate Lamont Hunter could be out on bond by end of month
