Woman charged in death of daughter is back in jail

By Matt Pordum

Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2004 | 9:21 a.m.

A 38-year-old woman accused of killing her diabetic daughter was back behind bars Tuesday after she pleaded not guilty to a new charge of child neglect that alleges she dragged the girl out of a vehicle by her hair.

Cheryl Musso, previously known as Cheryl Botzet, faces one count of felony child abuse and neglect. Bail of $10,000 was set on the new charge.

Authorities allege that in June 2003 Musso was infuriated after seeing her 11-year-old daughter, Ariel Botzet, with her estranged husband's girlfriend, Amy Hanlon. At the time of the alleged incident Musso and Randall Botzet were in a heated custody battle over their two children.

Musso posted $35,000 bail on Sept. 23 on the first-degree murder charge, which alleges she killed Ariel Botzet by failing to provide necessary care for the diabetic child. District Judge Valorie Vega said the new case brought a new bail with it.

Vega said District Judge Kenneth Cory was simply following the state's guidelines on bail when he issued a warrant for Musso and set her bail at $10,000 after the indictment was unsealed.

Musso is scheduled to go to trial on the murder charge in March before District Judge Sally Loehrer. Musso is scheduled to go to trial before Vega on Dec. 6 on the felony child abuse neglect charge.

Ariel Botzet died of diabetic ketocidosis, a condition involving an acidifying of the blood caused by a lack of insulin. The condition can be mistaken for a cold or flu, the report says, and parents of diabetic children are instructed that if their child appears ill, immediate medical attention should be sought.

Musso's attorney, Herb Sachs, called the new charge "phony," saying it was the first time this act has ever been alleged. He wondered why the alleged act wasn't mentioned during the preliminary hearing or a hearing on the admission of prior bad acts.

Sachs said he was notified by the media when Musso was indicted and couldn't understand why Musso, who had already spent 126 days in custody for the murder charge, was now subject to a new bail.

"They (the district attorney's office) want to punish her ahead of time, and that's what they are doing with the bail," Sachs said. "Bail isn't intended as punishment."

Deputy District Attorney David Stanton said he was only asking the court to "treat the defendant as every other defendant is treated in this community and set standard bail."

Stanton also pointed out that Musso still has a son in her care.

Additionally, Stanton said Musso had a history of drug use and was a flight risk.

Sachs said Musso had never failed to appear and voluntarily turned herself over to authorities on the murder charge.

Sachs said setting bail at $10,000 was equivalent to setting no bail for Musso, whose friends had "scraped" together all they could just to post the $35,000 bail required for release in her murder case.