A judge ruled that a former Phoenix police officer and his wife, who are accused of killing their 7-year-old daughter, will be released from jail amid their ongoing murder trial.
In court on Monday, Judge Patricia Starr ruled that Germayne and Lisa Cunningham would be released with ankle monitors.
“There’s no evidence that either one of them poses a specific danger to others in the community,” the judge said. “The weight of the evidence, frankly, is difficult for me because I haven’t heard all of the evidence. I’ve considered what has been provided or what I’ve seen so far, but the case is not over yet.”
Judge Starr says the Cunninghams have a place to live, job offers and no drug tests have been needed for either of them. She also explained there’s a chance the case could be deemed a mistrial.
“I don’t know if this case is going to finish in the time we have left,” she explained. “I may grant the motion to dismiss without prejudice, I don’t know at this time because I haven’t had a hearing. If I don’t and the trial concludes, there’s the very real chance that of a mistrial because we’ve kept these jurors already two months over, or screened them already two months over what they were originally screened for.”
“At this point, I am going to release the defendants on pre-trial services with electronic monitoring,” Judge Starr added.
Prosecutors argued against their release, stating that Lisa may be a flight risk since she is originally from Australia. The prosecution also said that the two have been in contact with their other children, despite being prohibited from doing so.
The couple’s defense lawyers denied the latter.
State prosecutors said that text messages between the two revealed abuse toward Sanaa. Prosecutors claimed the couple would zip tie Sanaa and lock her in the laundry room and garage. However, defense teams argued that the young girl would harm herself and her siblings due to her schizophrenia and other mental and physical disorders.
Prosecutors argued against the defense team, stating that the Cunninghams took too long to take Sanaa to the hospital after she wasn’t breathing, resulting in her dying from complications of sepsis.
If the two violate their probation orders, they will be taken into custody again, which could result in a higher bond, according to Judge Starr. A specific date for the couple’s release was not set.
