Closing arguments in case of ex-New Jersey mom accused in 1991 death of son
NEW BRUNSWICK, New Jersey (WABC) -- Jurors in New Jersey are hearing closing arguments at the trial of a woman charged with killing her 5-year-old son in 1991.
These final arguments bring up many memories of the case that goes back 25 long years. But now, after the evidence and witnesses, this trial is coming to an end.
"Michelle Lodzinski murdered her son Timothy Wiltsey. She dumped his body in a drainage ditch," said Assistant District Attorney Christie Bevacqua.
Little Timmy Wiltsey, Michelle Lodzinski's son, had been the focus of a desperate search for months in 1991.
Prosecutors in Lodzinski's murder trial accuse the mother of lying when she claimed Timmy went missing while the two attended a Sayreville carnival in May of that year.
The little boy's remains were found a year later in a marshy area several miles away.
"She left her child with this blanket. Fortunately for us, this blanket did not cover Timmy's remains, it uncovered who his murderer was," said Bevacqua.
From the beginning, Michelle Lodzinski was considered a suspect and questioned by police. It wasn't until a former baby sitter identified the blue blanket that Lodzinski was arrested in 2014 in Florida where she had been living.
Brought back to New Jersey, she would be charged with her son's murder.
"Michelle Lodzinski was the last person to see Timothy alive," said Bevacqua.
Defense attorney Gerald Krovatin has focused on the fact that no forensic evidence directly ties the boy or his mother to the blanket.
"There is no evidence that Michelle Lodzinski caused the death of her child," said Krovatin. "She did not kill her child. Period."
Lodzinski did not testify at the trial in which she has listened for two months to what her attorney says are painful memories.
The defense also claims prosecutors failed to prove the cause of the boy's death. "How can you convict someone of causing another person's death if they haven't proved to you a cause of death," said Krovatin.
