LIVE COURT COVERAGE: OVERTON APPEAL
Follow live coverage from the Nueces County courtroom in the appeals case concerning Hannah Overton's capital murder conviction
HANNAH OVERTON HISTORY
CORPUS CHRISTI — A Pittsburgh doctor took the stand Tuesday, the second day of testimony in a hearing related to Hannah Overton's capital murder conviction.
Overton, 35, was convicted of capital murder in 2007 in connection with the death of her foster child, Andrew Burd.
The boy died at a Corpus Christi hospital in 2006 from elevated sodium levels.
Dr. Michael Moritz, a clinical director of pediatric nephrology at the Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh, was the first witness called by Overton's attorneys on Tuesday.
Moritz has written many papers and book chapters on salt poisoning.
He said he experienced two cases with salt poisoning: one was where the child was losing salt in his urine so the doctor gave him salt supplements, which were very concentrated. Each time the mother gave the child the supplements the child would vomit repeatedly. The child eventually died and the mother was accused in the death.
Moritz said he testified in that case and the mother was exonerated.
But he also has seen at least one case where sodium poisoning was intentional.
Moritz said he has diagnosed intentional salt poisoning where the parent tries to fake medical illness in their child.
"It's a very perverse form of child abuse and suggests psychological disorders," he said.
In cases where a child is salt poisoned, there is obvious evidence of other forms of abuse, he said. With Overton, those signs were not there, Moritz said.
Moritz said vomit should have been collected at home, on Andrew's clothes and in the car to test the salt levels, but still believes Andrew had acute salt poisoning from the blood tests done at the hospital.
Moritz said when Andrew was in the hospital he was given more salt in saline solutions because the doctors did not diagnose sodium intoxication immediately.
Overton's defense has long argued that the boy had emotional and medical problems and would eat odd food, including the salty seasoning.
Overton's appeal for an overturned conviction include two key claims: that her trial attorneys failed to properly represent her and that prosecutors withheld test results that showed low levels of sodium in the boy's stomach contents.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ordered Longoria in February to hold the evidentiary hearing to look into the merits of Overton's claims.Three witnesses called by Overton's attorneys testified Monday in 214th District Judge Jose Longoria's court.
At least three more including the trial's lead prosecutor, Sandra Eastwood, are expected to take the stand over the next two days.Prosecutors say the defense claims of Overton's wrongful conviction are unfounded and nothing new.
Longoria won't rule in the case but will make a recommendation and report his findings to the Court of Criminal Appeals. The court will then determine if the evidence are grounds to set Overton free, order her a new trial, or have no merit.
The hearing will resume at 9 a.m. today.
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