Douglas County DA drops yearslong case against day care worker accused of killing infant
Douglas County’s top prosecutor announced Wednesday that she would drop a yearslong murder case against a 48-year-old former day care employee accused of killing a 9-month-old in Eudora in 2016.
Carrody Buchhorn, of Eudora, was convicted in 2018 of second-degree murder in the death of 9-month-old Oliver Ortiz — a decision that was later overturned. In the case against Buchhorn, prosecutors long relied on the findings of a forensic pathologist who concluded that the child died of abusive trauma.
But on Wednesday, Douglas County District Attorney Suzanne Valdez issued a statement saying her office would no longer pursue a retrial, citing a new forensic opinion commissioned by the state. In a summary of a report referenced by Valdez, the forensic pathologist said that child abuse likely did not cause the 9-month-old’s death.
“Until we received the report from our retained forensic pathologist, we had no reason to doubt that we had sufficient evidence to proceed with the retrial of Ms. Buchhorn,” Valdez said, adding: “Upon receipt and review of the forensic pathologist’s report dated January 3, 2023 and having conferred with other attorneys in this office, I have concluded that at this time, we do not have sufficient evidence to proceed with the prosecution of Ms. Buchhorn.
“While there are conflicting findings between the State’s two retained experts, as well as other evidence to support prosecution, we do not believe the evidence is likely to meet our burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Ortiz was found unresponsive by emergency medical personnel on Sept. 29, 2016, at Kids Group Daycare in Eudora, where Buchhorn worked, and was pronounced dead after arriving at Lawrence Memorial Hospital. Roughly six months later, Buchhorn was charged with murder in Douglas County District Court.
Erik Mitchell of Frontier Forensics Midwest, an independent contractor used by Kansas counties for decades to perform autopsies and whose conclusions in other high-profile cases have been called into question, conducted the examination on Ortiz and testified at Buchhorn’s trial. Buchhorn was ultimately convicted by a Douglas County jury and sentenced to spend 10 years in prison.
In 2021, the Court of Appeals of Kansas reversed the conviction based in part on the conclusion that Buchhorn’s defense did not sufficiently question Mitchell during the trial. The Douglas County Prosecutor’s Office appealed that decision to the Kansas Supreme Court, which was unable to reach a conclusion, upholding the appellate decision, and the case went back to Douglas County.
Last month, a Douglas County judge ordered that the case be dismissed after prosecutors failed to meet a deadline for providing a new report from a different forensic pathologist. That decision was appealed by Douglas County prosecutors until the forensic report was received Tuesday.
In her statement Wednesday evening, Valdez said the decision to drop the case against Buchhorn “is not one that I have made lightly” and should not “in any way reflect negatively upon the law enforcement agencies involved.”
“If there is any consolation to be had by those who mourn the loss of Ollie, it can be found in the fact that many trained professionals worked tirelessly to pursue justice, and Ollie will never be forgotten,” Valdez said.
