KSOM/KS95 Radio Exclusive Story
(Council Bluffs) The courtroom was again packed for day three of testimony for the State vs. Alison Dorsey Trial. The State rested its case on Thursday morning. The defense called six character witnesses to the stand on Thursday afternoon. Dorsey is on trial in the death of infant Luka Hodges at her private daycare in Massena on October 7, 2019.
Diane Harrison is a lifelong friend of Ali. The two spoke daily. Harrison testified she had spoken to Ali twice on the phone on the morning of October 7, 2019.
Sarah Beth Jones lives near Massena and has three children, and her youngest child attended Alison Dorsey’s Daycare at 408 Pine Street in Massena. Jones is the Director of Nurse Supervision at Cass Health in Atlantic.
Jones’s child was attending Dorsey’s daycare on October 7, 2019.
Defense Attorney David Brooks asked Jones if she was one of the families that refused bone scans after Luka’s death.
Chase Wheatley is an FNB loan officer and a Massena Volunteer Fire Department member. He and his wife had two preschool-aged children who attended Ali Dorsey’s daycare.
Three others took the stand on Ali’s behalf. Rob Ticknor testified he grew up next to Ali; she was like family. Ali babysat their kids. Ticknor testified on the morning of October 7, 2019; he had called her at 10:33 a.m. to visit about a video Ali would produce in honor of Ticknor’s sister’s 500th college coaching career win in Volleyball. He told the court he didn’t notice anything unusual about Ali during the call.
Michelle Williams and Cindy Gossman also testified on Alison Dorsey’s behalf on Thursday. Their entire testimonies are posted below.
Cindy Gossman lives three miles south of Massena and is an LPN in Corning.
Michelle Williams is an EMT for the Massena Fire Department, CAM School Nurse, and ER Nurse.
Following the testimonies of the character witnesses, the Defense then called Chris Van Ee, a Ph.D. in Biomedical and Mechanical Engineering. Dr. Van Ee said part of his studies included what levels of head acceleration can cause injury and what is relatively safe. The studies included crash test dummies mimicking an infant or child falling from different levels onto different surfaces and shaking. Dr. Van Ee reviewed the reports surrounding the death of two-month-old Luka Hodges. Van Ee said he interviewed various people associated with this incident, including parents, childcare providers, different things law enforcement had collected, including the autopsy report and photos, multiple depositions, and two medical doctors associated with the case.
Van Ee questioned why the neck is not affected in cases labeled as a shaken baby syndrome. He said according to reports, Luka did not suffer an injury to the neck area.
Prosecutor Monte Platz, during his cross-examination, questioned Van Ee about an impact site on Luka’s head, which would indicate a fall rather than a brain injury caused by shaking.
Testimony continues today at 9:00 a.m. at the Pottawattamie County Courthouse in Council Bluffs.
