Foster mom faces trial for death of child

Kevin Hill

Carol Ann Poole told police she thought people would think she was a bad person when she finally admitted to accidentally dropping her foster child over a second floor banister while playing with her in her Canton home.

Poole, 40, was in 35th District Court on Monday for a preliminary examination to determine if there was probable cause that she committed felony murder, involuntary manslaughter and first-degree child abuse in the death of Allison Newman. Chief Judge John E. MacDonald bound over Poole for trial on all three charges.

Poole had called police when she discovered the toddler was not breathing in the middle of the night. The child was taken to Annapolis Hospital in Wayne, then flown by helicopter to Ann Arbor. She was taken off life support the next day. Examiners diagnosed the child with severe head injuries, including a large skull fracture and brain swelling.

Four different stories

According to Det. Michael Wells, Poole gave four different accounts of what led to Newman’s injuries. The foster mother said Newman had struck her head the night before on her toddler bed. Then she told two separate stories that involved Newman falling in the bathtub and from the bathroom vanity.

Wells and another detective, Sgt. Rick Pomorski, didn’t believe her and pressed her for the truth. Until then, she had showed little emotion, according to Wells.

“Every once in a while she would start to cry and then go back to her normal state,” he said. After telling the third story, she became very still and then began to cry.

“She yells out, ‘I didn’t mean it. I dropped her,’” Wells testified at the hearing.

Spinning game turned deadly

Poole told police that she had been getting Newman ready for bed at 9 p.m. on Sept. 21. Her husband, Alan, was out of town. Newman was excited, and Poole picked her up and spun her around by the legs in an act Poole called “Whirlybird,” a nickname for a helicopter.

Poole told the detectives that she became dizzy from spinning around and stopped, at which point Allison also “lurched back,” came free from Poole’s grip and fell to the hardwood floor 12 feet below. Poole said she thought the child appeared responsive and put her to bed.

Hours later, she was awoken by the younger child Quinn’s screaming. She also checked on Newman at that point and found the child unresponsive.

Wells said he and Pomorski believed that to be the “truthful story” and asked Poole why she hadn’t been forthcoming.

“Mrs. Poole told us she was scared for Allison and herself, because she didn’t want to be known as a bad person,” said Wells.

Was it murder?

Jerry Dorsey IV, an assistant prosecutor for Wayne County, argued that the injuries Newman received that night were “intentionally caused” by Poole and that the defendant lied in all four stories she told police to “cover up what she did.”

Two medical witnesses said it couldn’t be determined if the injuries she received were accidental or the result of malice. Dr. Bader Cassin, the Washtenaw County Medical Examiner who performed the autopsy on Newman, said the cause of the severe skull fracture could possibly have been from a 12-foot fall or from being thrown. Dr. Hugh Garton, a neurosurgeon who examined Newman’s injuries, said her brain scans did not show any large blood clots, which would be expected in a case where a child fell, appeared normal afterward and then whose condition deteriorated over time. He said Newman’s chances would have been better if she had been treated immediately following any supposed fall.

The assistant prosecutor Dorsey pushed hard to keep the felony murder charge, and said it wasn’t understandable why a parent would spin their child near the top of the steps.

“It makes no sense,” he said.

Neighbor didn’t suspect wrongdoing

There was no mention Monday of day care workers who claim to have seen signs of abuse on Allison Newman last summer, though prosecutors may bring that evidence to trial. A separate exam for the day care director charged with not reporting abuse was postponed until February.

Kay Smith, a neighbor of the Poole family, said she never suspected anything was wrong in the house. Smith was the foster mother for Newman when child was six months old until January 2006, when she was given to the Pooles.

Poole left a message on Smith’s answering machine the night of Newman’s injury, before she called 911. The neighbor arrived before police and discovered a relatively calm Poole outside Newman’s bedroom door.

Newman was “bluer than I’d ever seen a child,” said Smith.

Smith also testified that Poole was a “paranoid first parent” who once took Newman to the doctor because the toddler had a wart on her finger.

On Monday, Dorsey asked if recent events had changed her opinion of Poole, and Smith began to cry.

“I wish she would have (taken) her to the doctor,” she said through tears.

Mark Satawa, Poole’s attorney, said the incident was a tragic accident and didn’t warrant the felony murder charge. He said the prosecutors didn’t provide any evidence or witnesses that proved Poole intended to harm or kill Newman—and that police believe the “Whirleybird” accident story was true.

“Mr. Dorsey stating that she acted intentionally is not proof,” said Satawa.

MacDonald kept the charge, however, noting that felony murder requires an action that the defendant knew could cause the death of a person. He said that was a question of fact that should be decided at trial.

Poole is scheduled to be arraigned at Wayne County Circuit Court on Dec. 26.