The trial of a man accused of murdering his girlfriend and her son has been postponed.
DeSean Brown, 25, appeared before a judge on Wednesday in connection with the December 2020 deaths of Nylo Lattimore, 3, and Nyteisha Lattimore, 29, but his trial has been postponed.
Megan Shanahan, the judge assigned to Brown’s case, was elected to the Ohio Supreme Court, necessitating a new judge to oversee the proceedings.
If convicted, Brown may face the death penalty.
“These things just take a long time for both sides to prepare,” FOX19 NOW Legal Analyst Mark Krumbein stated on Wednesday.
Litigation in a death penalty case is critical, and a jury must agree unanimously to impose the death penalty.
“Normally, 99% of judges just go with the jury’s recommendation on death,” Krumbein pointed out. When the death penalty is decided, Krumbein explains that there is a second trial, known as “the mitigation phase.”
“So really defense attorneys and prosecutors have to prepare for two separate trials in case they’re needed,” he said.
However, if a jury does not agree on the death penalty, the judge cannot impose it.
According to evidence presented by the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office, Brown is accused of murdering Nyteisha on December 5, 2020, and dumping her son Nylo alive in the Ohio River the following day, December 6, 2020.
On December 12, 2020, around 3:30 a.m., Nyteisha’s body was discovered near the Purple People Bridge in downtown Cincinnati.
The Hamilton County Coroner confirmed that she died of multiple stab wounds.
Despite months of searching, Nylo’s body was never found.
Brown’s next court date is scheduled for March 13, 2025.
