Baby sitter charged with murder seeks information in defense

LEWISTON, Idaho (AP) - A northern Idaho baby sitter charged with murder in the death of a 2-year-old says the Nez Perce County prosecutor's office is stonewalling her request for information in the case.

The Lewiston Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/1CU8DOC ) in a story Thursday that 30-year-old Natasha N. Hodges has asked the 2nd District Court to intervene.

Judge Jeff M. Brudie said he will consider Cuddihy's motion at a hearing Wednesday.

Prosecutors say Hodges was watching Rylee Mingo in 2012 when she struck the child in the abdomen, causing internal bleeding. Hodges called 911 when the toddler started having trouble breathing, but she died a short time later at a hospital.

Hodges' attorney, Richard M. Cuddihy, said the child died of natural causes after medical providers failed to diagnose and treat her condition.

He's asking for details about the girl and her sibling's medical history. Cuddihy has also requested a list of workers in the emergency room at St. Joseph Regional Medical Center when Mingo was admitted. He's also asked for the medical history of one of the emergency room doctors.

"The state did not contend they did not possess the material sought or could not possess the material sought with due diligence," Cuddihy wrote in the motion. "Instead, they contend the materials sought was beyond the scope of discovery. Evidence having the tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the child's cause of death more probable or less probable, is relevant."

A jury trial for Hodges is scheduled to begin April 6. Hodges is out of custody on $50,000 bond.

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Information from: Lewiston Tribune, http://www.lmtribune.com