Diabetics’ devices brought to court for murder trial

Molly Ball

Friday, Oct. 15, 2004 | 11:02 a.m.

Cheryl Botzet's lawyer delivered a pair of instruments that measure blood sugar to court officials this morning so that they could be tagged as evidence.

District Judge Sally Loehrer on Thursday had ordered Herb Sachs to bring in the devices, called glucometers.

Loehrer had earlier asked both sides to agree on a place where the glucometers could be sent for testing, but the lawyers' bickering could not be resolved.

Botzet, who also uses her maiden name Musso, is charged with murder for allegedly failing to monitor her diabetic 11-year-old daughter's levels of insulin, a hormone that helps control blood sugar.

On Thursday morning, Sachs had said he wanted prosecutors to appear in person to inspect the machines and to note their serial numbers and any readings saved in their memory before he gave up possession of them.

Prosecutors expressed exasperation that Sachs refused to allow an employee of the district attorney's office to do the job.

Then Loehrer had a flash of inspiration. "You know, Mr. Sachs, you could have brought the damn things this morning and the clerk could have marked down the readings in open court and they could be entered as court exhibits and checked out," she said.

Seizing on that possibility as the solution, Loehrer instructed Sachs to appear in court today with the devices.

Sachs carped about having to appear in court again when the prosecution had no such responsibility, but Loehrer remained firm.

"You. The machines. Nine o'clock tomorrow. Right here," she said, cutting him off.

Botzet's trial is scheduled for December.