SILVER CREEK, N.Y. (WKBW) — In an emotional and sometimes intense courtroom, Ashley Bertino appeared for a preliminary hearing Thursday morning after she was charged with second-degree murder in the death of her daughter.
The Chautauqua County District Attorney's Office brought in several witnesses to the Town of Hanover court in an effort to have the judge determine whether there is reasonable cause to believe that Bertino committed the crime, before bringing the case to a grand jury, which will ultimately make the final decision
Bertino's 12-year-old daughter, Mya Smith, died in late April, but Bertino wasn’t charged in her death until just last week.
DA Jason Schmidt told me that's because his office and the sheriff's office had been investigating the death to determine the appropriate charges.
Schmidt said Mya had a brother and sister and they were removed by CPS when Mya died.
But last Friday Schmidt said investigators were made aware that CPS made a decision, based on factors Schmidt said he was unaware of, to return Mya's two siblings to Bertino. That’s when they stepped in and charged her with murder.
"We didn't think that it was a smart idea to return these children to the to the same household in which Mya Smith had died, and therefore we took action on our side," he said.
Schmidt said the Erie County Medical Examiner's Office ruled Mya's death as a homicide.
A coroner testified that Mya's cause of death was diabetic ketoacidosis and the category of death was medical neglect.
A medical officer with the county testified that had Mya been properly treated, her death could've been prevented.
A Silver Creek school employee and school bus driver testified and noted that at times Mya had "poor hygiene." The bus driver said she did report concerns about Mya to the school district.
"As best as I can see, the mandated reporters were doing their job here, and they were alerting authorities that there was a problem here, there was signs of neglect. And for whatever reason, we're in this situation where we had a child die when Child Protective authorities were, you know, certainly in the home at various times during these children's lives, monitoring the home at various times, and there were reports and concerns that were expressed by the community, and here we are, and it's tragic, it's terrible," Schmidt said.
The defense attorney for Bertino said he could not comment on the case at this time.
The preliminary hearing continues Friday morning which Schmidt said is unusual since preliminary hearings usually last one day.
