Insulin-measuring equipment may be evidence in girl’s death

Molly Ball

Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2004 | 9:40 a.m.

The defense attorney for Cheryl Botzet must let prosecutors examine a pair of devices found in her home and used to measure blood sugar, District Judge Sally Loehrer said on Monday.

The machines, called glucometers, have the potential to be evidence in the case, in which Botzet, 38, also known as Cheryl Musso according to the court documents, is accused of murder for allegedly failing to monitor her diabetic 11-year-old daughter's insulin levels. Insulin is a hormone that helps control levels of sugar in the blood.

Botzet's lawyer, Herb Sachs, had alerted Loeher and prosecutor David Stanton that he possessed the glucometers, which he said were given to him by Botzet's father, who found them while cleaning house.

But Sachs argued that he should not have to turn the devices over because they didn't contain usable information and he didn't plan to use them as evidence.

Loehrer said the machines' relevance was for experts to decide and they should be sent away for examination, perhaps to the manufacturer or an independent laboratory.

"We don't know bupkis about this machine, how it works, whether it's accurate or not," the judge said.

Sachs said the machines' memories held blood-sugar readings, but no dates and times, so they couldn't be used to prove anything.

"That is for a jury to decide," Loehrer said. She instructed the two sides to decide on a tester for the machines and send them there.

The lawyers continued to argue after Loehrer left the courtroom, with Sachs insisting he would turn the glucometers over only to the district attorney's office, not to police detectives.

Botzet's daughter, Ariel Botzet, died last year of diabetic ketoacidosis, a condition caused by lack of insulin. Under Nevada law, a child's death as a result of parental abuse or neglect can be considered murder.

Four hospital workers from Colorado, where mother and daughter previously lived, were scheduled to testify Monday in a hearing to determine whether they could speak at Cheryl Botzet's trial. Due to a mix-up, the witnesses did not arrive, and the hearing was postponed until Nov. 15.

One of the witnesses, a nurse who treated Ariel in September 2002 at a diabetes clinic in Alamosa, Colo., has been quoted by prosecutors as saying the girl's blood sugar had not been checked for more than five months.