Jury returns guilty verdict in two hours

Jury returns guilty verdict in two hours

YATES COUNTY--After just over two hours of deliberations, a Yates County jury returned a guilty verdict on the charge of murder in the second degree against Kelly Anderson for causing the death of her 16-month-old son Ethan Eslick on Aug. 29, 2002. The case was initially investigated by the Yates County Sheriff's Office investigators Todd Sotir and Michael Christensen. However, the case remained dormant as a cold case until March of 2018 when investigators from the sheriff's office presented it to District Attorney Todd Casella. From there, assistance was sought from the New York State Police Special Investigations Unit (SIU), the FBI and their Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) which resulted in a coordinated effort among all agencies. After 90 days of wiretaps and four days of grand jury presentations, an indictment was secured against the defendant, Kelly Anderson for two counts of murder in the second degree for the death of Ethan Eslick.
The jury trial began on June 1, 2021, and was prosecuted by Casella who called 24 witnesses over the course of four days, including two pathologists, a DNA expert, a serologist and the original investigators. The defendant took the stand and testified in her own defense. The jury began its deliberations June 9 at 1:00 p.m. After one read back on the charges, the jury reached its verdict at 3:20 p.m. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 21, 2021.
After the verdict, Casella commented, "For over three years this investigation has been the focal point of so many people who worked tirelessly in the pursuit of justice for Ethan. It has been an honor to have been among them. This was a difficult case that required the greatest of efforts to successfully prosecute, and it could not have been done alone. If not for the assistance and persistence of the Yates County Sheriff's Office, this case may have never been given a second look. The expertise, manpower and dedication of the New York State Police SIU were instrumental in securing the additional evidence necessary to secure the indictment and ultimately the conviction. For their service, commitment and dedication to this case, Investigator Arlyn Cunningham Jr., of the Yates County Sheriff's Office, Senior Investigator Allison Regan and Acting Senior Investigator Michael Schreiber of the New York State Police, have my sincerest gratitude."