A woman whose murder conviction was reversed for her infant daughter’s death on New Year’s Eve in 2013 has pleaded no contest to lesser charges.
Ashley Debra Jones was sentenced Wednesday to 14 years in state prison following her plea to one count each of voluntary manslaughter and child abuse resulting in death, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
The Downey resident was initially convicted in a non-jury trial of second-degree murder and child abuse for the Dec. 31, 2013, death of her nearly 4-month-old daughter, Savannah, and subsequently sentenced to 15 years to life in state prison.
But a state appeals court panel reversed her conviction, agreeing in an August 2018 ruling with the defense’s contention that Jones’ waiver of her right to a jury trial was “not knowing, intelligent, and voluntary.”
“… There is no showing from this record that Jones understood the nature of the right to a jury trial she was relinquishing,” the justices ruled. “The trial court did not inquire whether Jones understood the nature of her right to a jury trial, whether she discussed her decision with her attorney, or whether she had any questions … Because the trial court did not advise Jones as to the specific rights she would be giving up or inquire if her attorney explained those rights to her, her bare acknowledgment that she understood her right to a jury trial was inadequate.”
The appellate court panel noted that the court’s record does not show whether Jones understood that a jury is comprised of individuals from the community rather than a collection of judges, while finding that there was sufficient evidence to allow her to be retried.
Jones was tried along with the baby’s father, Johnathan Lucero, who was convicted of child abuse and sentenced to 10 years in state prison. He did not appeal his conviction.
Downey Police Department Lt. Mark McDaniel said soon afterward that authorities responded to a report of a medical emergency call at an apartment in the 8400 block of East Imperial Highway and found the infant non-responsive. Their efforts at CPR were unsuccessful, and the baby was pronounced dead at a hospital.
The infant weighed 7 pounds, 4 ounces when she was born and 9 pounds, 11 ounces at the time of her death from blunt force trauma and malnutrition. She had skull fractures, cerebral contusions, multiple rib fractures, a lacerated liver, bruised lungs and contusions to her diaphragm, according to court testimony.
Jones and Lucero were arrested the next morning.