Arizona murder mum accused Lisa Cunningham, formerly of Mannum bailed after seven years in Phoenix jail custody
A South Australian mother has been released from seven years in custody just weeks after she avoided possible execution in the US over her stepdaughter’s death.
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A South Australian mother has been released from seven years in custody, just weeks after she avoided possible execution in the US over her stepdaughter’s death.
Lisa Marie Cunningham, 50, will stand trial in July in her adopted home of Phoenix, accused of killing seven-year-old Sanaa, in Arizona, in February 2017.
After prosecutors last month withdrew their bid to have the mother-of-four face the death penalty if convicted of Sanaa’s murder, her lawyers asked she be bailed.
Maricopa County Judge Patricia Starr this week reportedly released Mrs Cunningham, originally from Mannum, and her American husband, Germayne, 45, a former Phoenix robbery-squad detective, from custody.
The pair, who deny first-degree “felony” murder over Sanaa’s death – an American legal term alleging a “reckless indifference to human life” – have been in custody for almost seven years.
The judge granted bail on a $US500,000 ($795,000) “secured bond” along with electronic monitoring and other supervision orders.
Mrs Cunningham, who has expressed relief over the death penalty decision, is now expected to be released from the maximum-security wing of the desert Estrella Women’s Jail.
Prosecutors allege Sanaa, who had acute schizophrenia, died from a sepsis infection in Phoenix Children’s Hospital from head and foot injuries linked to her living conditions.
The Cunninghams have pleaded not guilty to first degree murder and 10 counts of child abuse.
They claim Sanaa died from pneumonia and the effects of special prescribed medication.
Australian diplomats are helping the defence as the federal government is opposed to the death penalty.
The trial is expected to last up to three months.
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Originally published as Arizona murder mum accused Lisa Cunningham, formerly of Mannum bailed after seven years in Phoenix jail custody
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