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Thread: Michael and Nanette Craver Receive Four-Year Sentence in 2009 Murder of Seven-Year-Old Nathaniel Craver

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    Michael and Nanette Craver Receive Four-Year Sentence in 2009 Murder of Seven-Year-Old Nathaniel Craver





    DA wants death penalty for parents in Russian adoption case
    Nanette and Michael Craver face capital prosecution in connection with 7-year-old son's murder.


    A Carroll township couple accused in the beating and neglect death of their adopted Russian son will face a death penalty prosecution, Chief Deputy Prosecutor Tim Barker said this morning.

    Michael Craver, 45, and Nanette Craver, 54, were in York County Common Pleas Court today for their formal arraignment on charges of criminal homicide, endangering the welfare of a child and criminal conspiracy. Both are being held without bail.

    Nathaniel Craver, 7, died Aug. 25, 2009, at Hershey Medical Center of complications from traumatic brain injury coupled with a "severe failure to thrive," Dr. Wayne Ross, who performed the autopsy, said at the Cravers' April 29 preliminary hearing.

    Ross testified the emaciated child, adopted by the Cravers
    in 2003, had been repeatedly beaten over a period of time.

    Barker said today the aggravating circumstances that merit the District Attorney's Office seeking the death penalty for the defendants include the age of the victim and that his death occurred through the means of torture.

    Judge John S. Kennedy postponed the arraignment proceedings to allow the Cravers time to hire an attorney qualified to represent them in a death penalty case.

    Kennedy also ordered both defendants to submit to psychological evaluations.

    Attorney Vincent Quinn had been appointed by Kennedy to determine if the Cravers needed separate attorneys for the guilt phase of their trial.

    The judge dismissed Quinn from the case after accepting his opinion there is no conflict of interest requiring separate attorneys.

    Kennedy said the defendants would need separate attorneys for the penalty phase of the trial if they are convicted of first-degree murder.

    The Cravers are to return to Kennedy's courtroom on June 14 for the completion of their arraignment.

    York County currently has nine inmates on death row.

    http://www.ydr.com/ci_15150451?source=rss

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    A York County couple accused of beating their adopted son to death appeared in court Monday morning.

    Michael and Nanette Craver pleaded not guilty to charges they killed their 7-year-old adopted son from Russia.

    Nathaniel Craver died last August of complications from a brain injury and neglect.

    News 8 asked defense attorney Gerald Lord when the case would go to trial.

    "I don't know when we will go to trial, but if we are having hearings in September then there may be follow-up hearings. We may not go to trial until the end of this year or next year," said Lord.

    Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for the couple.

    http://www.wgal.com/news/23893369/detail.html

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    Disorder led boy to cause own death, Cravers say

    Nathaniel Craver caused his own death by repeatedly hurting himself, according to the 7-year-old's adoptive parents, who could face the death penalty if they are convicted of fatally beating the boy.

    In motions filed this week, Michael and Nanette Craver are again claiming Nathaniel had been diagnosed with reactive attachment disorder -- a complex collection of symptoms that includes a tendency to self-injure.

    Prosecutors are pointing to the laundry list of injuries they say the boy suffered -- including more than 20 injuries to Nathaniel's head -- as showing he was tortured, which is one of the factors that allows them to seek capital punishment.

    In asking the court to dismiss first- and third-degree homicide charges against them and take the threat of the death penalty off the table, attorneys for the Cravers said their clients tried to get help for the boy they adopted from Russia.

    One expert, who works extensively with some of the nation's most troubled children, said it is possible Nathaniel unwittingly injured himself to the point of death.

    Dr. Ron Federici, a developmental neuropsychologist from Virginia and the author of "Help for the Hopeless Child," has worked on almost all of the fatal Russian adoption cases in the United States.

    "I've had a kid who chewed his hand off," Federici said. "I had a kid who poked an eye out. Kids who cut themselves with no pain. Is it possible he injured himself? Is it possible [he] had attachment disorder? I couldn't say. It'd be highly speculative without a thorough evaluation of his entire development."

    Any problems that Nathaniel might have had on a neuro-biological level would also have to be considered alongside his experiences in the Craver household, Federici said.

    Police said Michael Craver drove his son to Holy Spirit Hospital in East Pennsboro Twp. when he found him unresponsive in his bed on the morning of Aug. 20, 2009. At the family's direction, Nathaniel was taken off of life support Aug. 24 and died Aug. 25.

    Nathaniel's twin sister, whom the Cravers' adopted at the same time in 2003, was taken from the couple after their arrest in February and is in a safe place, York County authorities have said. The Cravers have been in jail, held without bail, since their arrest.

    Michael Craver's motion laid out a number of doctors and specialists the family consulted in the past two years. Federici said RAD never exists by itself. There are "layers and layers and layers" of associated problems and RAD is only a symptom of a much larger and deeper disturbance.

    Dr. Wayne K. Ross, at a preliminary hearing in April, testified, "In my opinion, within a reasonable degree of medical certainty, the patterns [of injury] are inconsistent with self-abuse."

    A thick scar, indicating significant brain injury, spanned beneath the boy's skull, Ross testified. Nathaniel's wrists and ankles showing bruising, a possible indication he was bound before he died, Ross testified. In all, he was on the receiving end of weeks and weeks and weeks of trauma before his death, possibly by being hit repeatedly against a flat, firm surface, he said during the preliminary hearing.

    Michael Craver's motion pointed out, however, that at the hearing, Ross "could not exclude the possibility that the traumatic brain injury was caused by self-infliction."

    Due to what they characterized as "sensationalized and inflammatory coverage" in the local media, the defense also requested change of venue or that a jury from outside York County hear the case.

    Nanette Cravers' motions also requested that the jury not be shown Nathaniel's autopsy photos, calling them inflammatory.

    Prosecutors will have the chance to respond to the motions. A call to York County First Deputy Prosecutor Tim Barker was not returned.

    http://www.pennlive.com/news/patriot...060.xml&coll=1

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    York County parents face death penalty in beating death of their son, 7

    Photos of Nathaniel Craver's bruised and emaciated body will be part of the evidence shown to jurors in the homicide trial of his parents.

    Michael and Nanette Craver, of Carroll Township, near Dillsburg, York County, were again before Judge John S. Kennedy today for a hearing on the numerous motions filed by their defense attorneys. The Cravers are charged with homicide, conspiracy and child endangerment in the death of their 7-year-old adopted son.

    Nathaniel died Aug. 25, 2009, after being on life support for five days. An autopsy revealed Nathaniel had sustained at least 80 blows, more than 20 to the head alone.

    The Cravers' defense counsel argued color photographs of the child, particularly ones depicting him in his hospital bed surrounded by tubes and wires, would prejudice any potential jury.

    Kennedy disagreed, saying in all but two instances, the photographs depicted information that could not be described.

    The ruling was one of several Kennedy made against the defense. He denied outright constitutional and death penalty challenges, saying they were better reserved for higher courts. He also denied impaneling separate juries for each defendant.

    Due to publicity involving the case, the defense also sought to move a trial out of York County or bring in an outside jury. Kennedy also denied that motion, but said he remained open to changing his mind, should it become impossible to find impartial jurors.

    Only the question of whether the Commonwealth established a case against the Cravers at the district court level remains. Briefs are due to Kennedy before the holidays.

    http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/ind...ies_const.html

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    Cravers file pretrial concerns in killing of adopted Russian boy

    York, PA - Attorneys for the Carroll Township couple charged in the death of their 7-year-old adopted son broadened their arguments that murder charges should be dismissed for lack of evidence.

    In motions filed for Michael and Nanette Craver on Tuesday in York County court, the defense contends the district attorney's office failed to provide the evidence that supports first- and third-degree murder charges.

    Nathaniel Craver died Aug. 25, 2009, at Penn State Hershey Medical Center of complications from traumatic brain injury coupled with a "severe failure to thrive," according to medical testimony at the Cravers' April 29 preliminary hearing.

    In the commonwealth response to the defense filings, assistant district attorneys Timothy Barker and Jennifer Russell argue both parents failed to provide their son with proper care.

    The Cravers are arguing they should have received their Miranda rights before being questioned by Children and Youth Services case workers and are asking that any statements made at that time be suppressed from trial.

    The commonwealth maintains the Cravers' statements were voluntary.

    The Cravers are seeking dismissal of torture as an aggravating circumstance required to support the commonwealth's intention to seek the death penalty if they are convicted of first-degree murder.

    Barker and Russell responded that the defense failed to present any evidence or testimony to support that request and noted that the Cravers did not challenge the second aggravating circumstance: the victim being under 12 years of age.

    "As such, the defense cannot claim that this matter is improperly designated as capital," the prosecutors stated.

    The Cravers are scheduled for a status hearing before Judge John S. Kennedy on Feb. 23.

    http://www.ydr.com/crime/ci_17141040

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    Motions denied for parents accused of fatally beating adopted son

    The Carroll Township man accused, along with his wife, of fatally beating their 7-year-old adopted son lost his bid to have his statements to police suppressed at trial.

    Michael J. Craver, 46, and Nanette L. Craver, 55, appeared in York County Court Wednesday afternoon, where Common Pleas Judge John S. Kennedy ruled on a few remaining pretrial motions in the case.

    No trial date has been set for the Cravers, both of whom face the death penalty if convicted of first-degree murder.

    Kennedy denied a defense motion to suppress statements Michael Craver made to police at Hershey Medical Center, where Nathaniel Craver died on Aug. 25, 2009.

    Nathaniel died of complications from traumatic brain injuries, according to authorities, who also said he was malnourished. Nathaniel suffered some 80 external injuries in various stages of healing, police said.

    He and his sister were born in Russia and adopted from an orphanage there by the Cravers.

    No dismissal: Also Wednesday, the judge denied Nanette Craver's motion to dismiss the case against her.

    In addition, he denied her motion to throw out one of the aggravating circumstances prosecutors will use to argue for the death penalty, if she is convicted -- that Nathaniel's death constituted tortured.

    Chief deputy prosecutor Tim Barker has also said he plans to cite the victim's young age as a second aggravating circumstance, if the case gets to the death-penalty stage for either defendant.

    The Cravers, both of 36 Blair Mountain Road, maintain Nathaniel caused his own injuries.

    Juror questions: Kennedy, Barker and the Cravers' defense attorneys also discussed possible questions to ask potential jurors; that process is ongoing.

    The judge said "a number" of proposed questions aren't appropriate, specifically those about potential jurors' personal habits.

    He read some proposed questions aloud at the status hearing, including:

    * What are your three favorite television shows?

    * What books have you read lately?

    * How do you feel about the way the criminal-justice system works in the United States?

    Nanette Craver is being represented by Gerald Lord and Rick Robinson. Michael Craver is being represented by Suzanne Smith, Clasina Mahoney and Ron Jackson Jr.

    http://www.yorkdispatch.com/news/ci_17462890

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    DA takes death penalty off the table for parents of Russian boy

    York, PA - The parents of a dead 7-year-old adopted Russian boy no longer face the death penalty if convicted of first-degree murder.

    In a memorandum filed Wednesday in the York County Judicial Center, Chief Deputy prosecutors Tim Barker and Jennifer Russell advised the court they reached their decision to withdraw the death penalty against Michael and Nanette Craver after reviewing the case and consulting experts in capital murder litigation.

    The prosecutors said they concluded "a substantial likelihood exists that potential mitigating circumstances would outweigh the aggravating circumstances ... thereby resulting in a sentence of life imprisonment without ... parole." They said the death penalty was being withdrawn "in the interests of justice."

    The Cravers -- Michael, 46, and Nanette, 55, of Carroll Township -- were arrested and charged with homicide, conspiracy and endangering the welfare of a child in February 2010 following an investigation into the Aug. 25, 2009 death of their adopted son, Nathaniel, at Hershey Medical Center.

    At their arraignments, the district attorney's office filed notices of an intent to seek the death penalty. Listed as the aggravating circumstances meriting such punishment was that the victim was under the age of 12 and that the murder was committed through the means of torture.

    An autopsy revealed more than 80 external injuries to Nathaniel's body, about 20 of which were to his head. The boy also was emaciated, according to medical testimony.

    Barker could not be reached for comment Friday on the withdrawal of the death penalty.

    Defense attorney Rick Robinson, representing Nanette Craver, said Friday, "I didn't think it was a death penalty case from the start."

    Robinson said the mitigating circumstance he was relying on was "the catch-all, that basically these people are good people."

    In defense filings, the Cravers have contended that Nathaniel "had been diagnosed with Reactive Attachment Disorder and that one of the symptoms . . . observed . . . by his treatment professionals was self-injury."

    Suzanne Smith, representing Michael Craver, said she also thought "it's the right decision."

    She said she had not spoken to Barker or Russell and did not know their reasoning for withdrawing the death penalty.

    She said it was an "anomaly" to see someone the ages of the Cravers, neither of whom have prior criminal records, subject to a death penalty case.

    "I hate to label children as special needs," she said. "But they were adopted in Russian and they came with things that needed monitored and taken care of."

    The Cravers, who both remain in county prison without bail, are scheduled for a status hearing before Judge John S. Kennedy on July 5.

    http://www.ydr.com/local/ci_18394033

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    Secret jury selection held in local Russian adoption death case

    A jury has been seated in secret for the internationally high-profile case of a York County couple accused of killing their 7-year-old adopted Russian son. The presiding judge said this was done primarily out of fear that coverage by the York Daily Record/Sunday News would taint potential jurors.

    Judge John S. Kennedy said information typically available to the public on the court calendar and in the defendants' dockets addressing jury selection was purposefully withheld by agreement between the defense and the prosecution. No public hearing on the issue of jury selection was ever held.

    "We know when there is a high-profile case on the docket, the Sunday before jury selection there is usually a big story in the Sunday News," Kennedy said. "That makes it difficult sometimes to find jurors."

    The Cravers' arrests drew international attention, as they occurred just as Russia suspended adoptions with the U.S. in April 2010. Russian officials attended the preliminary hearing.

    Kennedy said the jury for Michael and Nanette Craver was selected Tuesday from a pool of 59 potential jurors. He said 28 of those jurors said they had heard of the case "but because of the time that has lapsed, only a few remembered any details."

    "Had there been a major article in the Sunday paper, we probably would not have gotten a jury," Kennedy said.

    Melissa Melewsky, legal counsel for the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association, said, "Jury selection is public and must be conducted in open court unless there has been a showing of good cause made on the record for closure."

    Law experts disagree whether the way jury selection was handled in this case is problematic.

    Duquesne University law professor Kenneth Hirsch said he can't think of another instance in which there has been a "sneaky jury selection," but "I can't think of any rule violated by doing so."

    However, Melewsky said that for all intents and purposes, jury selection was closed. Anyone who feels it was inappropriate could appeal to a higher court.

    "The rules don't change because there's public interest," she said.

    Kennedy said Tuesday's jury selection was open to the public, and some members of the public were present. He said he was not sure how they knew of the jury selection.

    But, he said, the decision to not publish the fact that jury selection was taking place or that the trial was scheduled for Sept. 6 in the court calendar or defense dockets "was intentional."

    "That certainly was an action on my part, and I take full responsibility that it occurred," he said. "I anticipated the papers would not be happy when they found out. I discussed it with my colleagues, and they agreed is was not illegal and not improper."

    As of close of business Wednesday, no information about the jury selection or the scheduled start of this trial had been placed into the public record.

    Earlier Wednesday, a reporter asked Chief Deputy Prosecutor Tim Barker if he was picking a jury for the Craver case. He said no. When the reporter then asked, if he would be picking a jury, he said no.

    Barker then added the district attorney's office had opted not to speak publicly about the case "at all to ensure a fair trial." And he would discuss neither the jury selection nor a trial date.

    District Attorney Tom Kearney said Barker is "making all the calls" in the Craver case.

    "If the judge is trying to protect the defendants' rights, I think it is inappropriate to comment," Kearney said.

    Kennedy said a jury was difficult to pick for the murder trial of Paul Hansen, who was convicted of first-degree murder in July for the shooting death of Melissa Worley Barnes, after "a small story" was printed in the York Daily Record/Sunday News. He said several of the jurors said they read the story the day before jury selection.

    Kennedy said he was compelled to go out of county for a jury for Stephen Frankel following media coverage of the former attorney's arrest for allegedly kicking a police officer. Frankel had faced several highly-publicized criminal charges before the court in recent years.

    Suzanne Smith, one of Michael Craver's attorneys, said the secrecy was used "because we were hoping to pick a fair jury.

    "Sometimes people read the paper and get confused," she said. "It was very apparent from (the Cravers' jury) panel."

    Smith said five prospective jurors said they could not "be fair and impartial after what they had read." She said about half the jurors recalled reading something about the case.

    The last story on the Cravers that ran in the Daily Record appeared on July 2 and reported that the district attorney's office had withdrawn an intent to seek the death penalty.

    Smith said her concern with publicity just before jury selection includes information about evidence or testimony that has been excluded from trial.

    "The nature of reporting is that it reveals something that shouldn't be revealed to the jury," she said.

    She said there was no overt agreement to hide jury selection from the public, but there was an agreement not to discuss picking a jury with the media. She said she was not involved in any decision to block such information from the public record.

    Kennedy said he told jurors not to read or watch any news coverage.

    President Judge Stephen P. Linebaugh and York County Clerk of Courts Don O'Shell said they had no specific knowledge Wednesday afternoon that jury selection in the Craver case had taken place or that a jury had been seated Tuesday.

    O'Shell, whose office tracks all county criminal cases, also could not explain how information put in the tracking system by his staff was missing in the Cravers' cases.

    O'Shell confirmed that, contrary to standard practice, neither a notice of jury selection nor a trial date was on the public court calendar or the Cravers' electronic case files.

    As president judge, Linebaugh is responsible for assigning judges to criminal or civil court. He is not involved in the assignment of criminal cases to judges. He said he noticed jurors in the courthouse and was aware that the Craver case was coming up, but he didn't give it any more thought.

    At a glance

    Michael and Nanette Craver, of Carroll Township, are charged with first- and third-degree murder, endangering the welfare of a child and conspiracy in the death of their 7-year-old adopted Russian son, Nathaniel.

    Nathaniel died Aug. 25, 2009, from injuries that experts said he suffered during a beating. An autopsy revealed more than 80 injuries, including 20 to his head, and the boy was emaciated, according to medical experts.

    The Cravers were charged in Nathaniel's death in April 2010. Initially, the prosecution sought the death penalty against the couple; however, the death penalty was taken off the table in July because prosecutors concluded that "substantial evidence existed" that mitigating circumstances could prevent a jury from sentencing the Cravers to death if they are convicted.

    U.S.-Russia relations

    Nathaniel Craver's death in 2010 was one of two cases involving adoptions from Russia that preceded that nation blocking of all adoptions to the United States.

    Russia suspended adoptions after a mother from Tennessee put her 7-year-old adopted son on a plane and sent him back to Russia because, she said, he had "severe psychopathic issues."

    Russian officials attended the Michael and Nanette Cravers' preliminary hearing on April 29, 2010, and said afterward that they were particularly concerned by allegations that the couple had neglected Nathaniel Craver well before his fatal injuries.

    "Russia is following the case very closely," Alexey Veselovskiy of Russia's NTV said at the time.

    The U.S. and Russia signed a new adoption treaty in July that gives Russia more oversight of adopted children once they are brought to the U.S.

    Change of venue cases

    If a court is concerned that an impartial jury cannot be found in the county where a crime occurred, the judge can move the trial to another county. That is called a change of venue. The judge can also bring in a jury from another county. That is called a change of venire.

    Here is a sample of some criminal cases where changes of venue or venire were requested:

    Jordan Wallick: Accused of killing law student James Wallmuth III in a city park in July 2010. Venue request denied, prosecution pending.

    Joanna Seibert: Convicted of homicide by vehicle for the Oct. 21, 2008, highway death of Northern York County Regional Police Officer David Tome. Venue request deferred, York County jury seated.

    Nigel Maitland: Convicted of first-degree murder for the May 10, 2010 drive-by shooting that killed 9-year-old Ciara "CeCe" Savage. Venue request denied.

    Biagio Scotto: Acquitted of rape in a retrial in 2010. Scotto had fled the county after being convicted in 2005. Following his capture in England he was granted a retrial. Venue request for retrial denied.

    Robert "Buck" King: Accused of the 2006 murder of Juan Laboy. King had previously been convicted of third-degree murder for the Aug. 30, 2007, murder of Kyree "Mir" White. Venue request was denied for Laboy homicide. Charges were withdrawn.

    Toby Taylor: Convicted of third-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment in March 2009, for the Jan. 23, 2008, electrocution of his wife, Kirsten Taylor. Venue request denied.

    Stephen Frankel: Acquitted of aggravated assault on a police officer in 2009. Sought venue change because he was convicted of misappropriation of funds and his father, Mark D. Frankel, was convicted of 58 counts of theft in 2006 for embezzlement from their law firm. Change of venire request granted. The jury was picked in Montgomery County and brought to York County. Noel Gomez: Found guilty but mentally ill in June 2007 for the November 2004 parking lot shooting of Julia Cook, a pregnant New York woman. Venue request deferred, York County jury seated.

    Glen Rock dump truck crash: Three defendants charged with the deaths of Michelle Moser and her 11-year-old daughter, Amber McArdle, when a Blossom Valley Farms truck crushed their car on April 11, 2003. Venue request denied.

    York City Police Officer Henry Schaad murder case: Stephen D. Freeland and Leon "Smickle" Wright were convicted of second-degree murder in 2003 for the 1969 shooting of the officer during race rioting. Venue request denied.

    Lillie Belle Allen murder case: Nine men were convicted in 2002 of charges ranging second-degree murder to conspiracy to commit an unlawful act for the 1969 murder of the South Carolina visitor. Mayor Charlie Robertson, a former city police officer, was acquitted of all charges. Venue request deferred. York County jury seated.

    Related stories

    Law experts differ on whether secret jury selection was OK

    Russian officials meet with county prosecutors

    Russians focus on York County, Craver hearing

    DA takes death penalty off table for parents of Russian boy

    Dad accused in Russian adopted son's death gets OK to write to daughter

    Cravers want charges dropped

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    Parade of expert witnesses expected next week in Russian adoption trial

    Among those are Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Reactive Detachment Disorder and the bio-mechanic theory of human injury.

    The murder trial of Michael and Nanette Craver enters its second week Monday in the Judicial Center. They are accused of the death of their 7-year-old adopted Russian son, Nathaniel.

    The boy died Aug. 25, 2009 at Hershey Medical Center. Authorities say the boy was abused and neglected to death.

    The defense opened on Friday with testimony from the boy's pre-school teachers who characterized him as sweet, easily distracted, clumsy, extremely active and fearless.

    The Cravers maintain they did everything they could for their child and that he was fatally injured when he hit his head on a wood-burning stove in their Carroll Township home.

    Last week, the prosecution said in the months before Nathaniel's death, the Cravers took him from place to place attempting to get a diagnosis to support their claim that he inflicted injury on himself.

    Next week, the defense will attempt to show that the Cravers were loving parents who sought help for their son in numerous areas of medicine and mental health.

    Defense attorney Gerald Lord said the witnesses expected to be called are respected experts in their fields and that their testimony will conflict with the prosecution's experts.

    He said, by the end of the trial, he expects the jury is "not going to be able to convict either of the Cravers."

    He conceded it will not "be a happy day," because the Cravers still have lost a son.

    One of the places the Cravers looked for help, Lord said, was the Institute for Children and Families in Lancaster.

    Lord told the jury that the Cravers' problems were considered so pressing to the institute they bypassed other families to be placed atop the treatment list.

    According to the institute's website, it is a mental health treatment facility for young children who have emotional problems with bonding and attaching with their parents.

    The Cravers' attorneys previously have said Nathaniel and his twin sister both were diagnosed with Reactive Detachment Disorder (RAD) by doctors at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

    RAD, according to the Mayo Clinic medical site, "is a rare but serious condition in which infants and young children don't establish healthy bonds with parents or caregivers. A child with reactive attachment disorder is typically neglected, abused or orphaned."

    In her opening statement Tuesday, First Assistant Public Defender Clasina Mahoney said the Craver children were born prematurely, spent their first year in a hospital followed by five months in an orphanage under "bad conditions ... no tender care, no holding."

    Mahoney also said Nathaniel suffered from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. She said the twins were born in prison to a mother with substance abuse problems.

    "Alcohol, during the first tri-mester affects the fetus' brain," she said.

    Lord said the director of the North Dakota University biomechanics lab also will offer his opinions on how Nathaniel's head trauma may have occurred. He said that testimony will be in direct opposition to the method and amount of force the prosecution claimed was necessary to inflict the injury.

    Background

    Michael and Nanette Craver of Carroll Township are charged with first- and third-degree murder, endangering the welfare of a child and conspiracy in the death of their 7-year-old adopted Russian son, Nathaniel.

    Nathaniel died Aug. 25, 2009, from injuries that experts said he suffered during a beating. An autopsy revealed more than 80 injuries, including 20 to his head, and the boy was emaciated, according to medical experts.

    The Cravers were charged in Nathaniel's death in April 2010. Initially, the prosecution sought the death penalty against the couple; however, the death penalty was taken off the table in July because prosecutors concluded that "substantial evidence existed" that mitigating circumstances could prevent a jury from sentencing the Cravers to death if they are convicted.

    The Cravers say they never harmed their son, but that the boy they adopted at 18 months old had physical and emotional problems that caused him to injure himself.

    http://www.ydr.com/ci_18866874

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    Jury: Cravers guilty of involuntary manslaughter

    With a nobody-wins verdict, Michael and Nanette Craver are forever branded with being responsible for their son's death and the prosecution fell short of getting the murder conviction it sought.

    Friday, at the end of a two-week trial of international interest, a York County jury convicted the Cravers of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of endangering the welfare of a child and three counts of criminal conspiracy.

    Their adopted Russian son, Nathaniel, died Aug. 25, 2009 at Hershey Medical Center from a subdural hematoma, bleeding on the brain.

    Authorities said the parents abused and neglected the boy. The Cravers contended Nathaniel's time in a Russian orphanage and the circumstances of his birth left him with serious emotional and mental problems that caused him to repeatedly injure himself.

    The jury acquitted the Cravers of the more serious charges of first- and third-degree murder.

    Nanette Craver's face was not visible from the gallery when her verdict was read. From her body language and the shaking of her shoulders, she appeared to be crying.

    Michael Craver looked distraught as his wife was convicted. That look remained on his face as his verdict was read.

    The convictions allowed attorneys for the Cravers, who have been held without bail for 19 months, to argue for bail. Judge John S. Kennedy agreed, setting bail at $50,000 each. The couple posted bail Friday night and were released.

    Later, outside the Judicial Center courtroom, Chief Deputy Prosecutor Tim Barker said, "We are very appreciative of the jury verdict of involuntary manslaughter and endangering through a course of conduct because it means that forever Michael and Nanette Craver will be called the killers of their son Nathaniel and we have vindicated Nathaniel's memory and shown he didn't abuse himself to death."

    Following the verdict, Suzanne Smith, an attorney for Michael Craver, said, "The jury put some time into it," emphasizing the word some.

    "The lawyers' concerns are, this was a two-week trial and they made the decision in two hours," she said.

    All five defense attorneys said they still believe the commonwealth did not meet its burden of proof on the homicide charges, which includes involuntary manslaughter.

    "I'm not going to say they (the jury) didn't do their job," Rick Robinson said. "I just disagree. From my perspective, I didn't feel the commonwealth had met the burden.

    "I'm not condemning the jury. That's our system."

    The attorneys said they could not describe the Cravers' emotions over the verdict.

    "It's hard to be relieved when you are convicted of any crime," Clasina Mahoney said.

    The attorneys said they will be asking for time-served sentences for the Cravers who have been in custody without bail for 19 months.

    The involuntary manslaughter charge carries a maximum penalty of 3½ to seven years in prison and has a standard sentencing guideline range calling for a minimum sentence of between nine and 16 months.

    Barker said it would be premature for him to comment on sentencing. He would not say if he would argue for more time for the Cravers.

    The Cravers' arrests drew international attention, as they occurred just as Russia suspended adoptions with the U.S. in April 2010. Russian officials attended the preliminary hearing, and members of the Russian media were present for the trial.

    Earlier Friday, the jury heard closing arguments.

    "Common sense tells you he didn't do it to himself," Barker told the jury. "Common sense tells you they did it to him. And on Aug. 19, (2009) they did it to him again - repeated blows.

    "They murdered their 'little buddy."

    Barker said the Cravers created a fictional scenario of self-injury to cover their abuse of the boy.

    He said their "concerns" the boy was injuring himself were not raised until after they were reported to child services for suspected abuse.

    "They are not on trial for being good parents or bad parents," he said.

    He noted that Dr. Annie Steinberg had testified that children with behavioral disorders like Reactive Attachment Disorder need nurturing homes.

    But, he said, Steinberg had never heard of a child with RAD dying at his own hand.

    Barker voiced amazement that a type of death unheard of in medical literature would happen in "in Dillsburg, in York County."

    "This case existed in the shadows," he said. "The Cravers kept it in the shadows. Nathaniel died a shadowy death."

    He said Nathaniel's body revealed the true nature of his death.

    "None of us are perfect parents," Smith said. "And children don't come with instruction booklets."

    She said because the Cravers were adoptive parents, they had even less information about their own children.

    But she reminded the jury of evidence that the children were taken to pediatricians for wellness checks and small, common health issues.

    "If you are abusing your children, why are you taking them to the doctor for something minor?" she asked.

    Smith recalled the only doctor who said Nathaniel did not have fetal alcohol syndrome was the commonwealth's pathologist.

    And, she said, investigators were in the Craver home three times after Nathaniel's death.

    She said the commonwealth presented no evidence from that because there was nothing to be found.

    Robinson argued the commonwealth's theory that the Cravers abused their son, starved him, and bound him was mere "speculation."

    He said the commonwealth's expert in biomechanics "took nothing about human nature" into account.

    "He took numbers and plugged them into a computer," he said. "The commonwealth wants you to convict them of first-degree murder based on a computer."

    Robinson reminded the jury that Nanette Craver was telling her co-workers about Nathaniel injuring himself, saying, "It's getting worse, it's getting worse."

    He said it was "preposterous" to think that months before the boy's death she was setting up an alibi.

    Robinson said if the Cravers did not love or want their children, they could have left them in foster care after they were removed from the home by child services in 2007.

    "Not one witness said they saw Nanette Craver or Michael Craver strike Nathaniel," Robinson said.

    "To be clear, we are not blaming Nathaniel when I say it was his fault. He didn't have a choice about how he came into this world."

    http://www.ydr.com/crime/ci_18909813

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