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J. Harry Jones
STAFF WRITER

15-Jun-1999 Tuesday

Sobbing uncontrollably, Carmel Valley day-care operator Manjit Basuta was
taken from a defense table in San Diego Superior Court to jail yesterday
after being found guilty of fatally shaking a toddler last year.

Watching from a few feet away in the courtroom audience, Audrey Amaral, the
mother of the dead child, 13-month-old Christopher Evan Oliver Smith,
hugged her sister and wept.

Emotions surfaced immediately after a jury convicted Basuta, 44, of shaking
to death Oliver, as he was called. Basuta, who had been free on bail during
the monthlong trial, now faces a mandatory sentence of 25 years to life in
prison.

The prosecution's case against Basuta focused on two basic elements: expert
medical testimony and the testimony of Cristina Carrillo, Basuta's
housekeeper, who said she saw her employer shake Oliver out of anger when
he refused to come to her to have his diaper changed.

Carrillo, a native of Guatemala who has lived in the United States
illegally since 1990, originally told police that Oliver was injured when
he was pushed to the ground by another child March 17, 1998.

But three days later Carrillo changed her story and told police that Basuta
shook the boy. She said she originally lied because Basuta threatened
several times to have her deported if she did not go along with the story.

The defense maintained throughout the trial that Carrillo's first story was
the true version of how Oliver died and that the fall she first described
aggravated an older head injury and proved fatal.

The jury deliberated for seven hours over two days before reaching its
verdict, and Mike Bennett, an Imperial Beach aircraft mechanic, was the
only juror who remained afterward to answer questions from the media.

"There was no other verdict that could have been reached," he said. "There
was no other event or incident that could have caused those injuries."

Bennett said the jury found the opinions of two doctors -- County Medical
Examiner Brian Blackbourne, who performed the autopsy on Oliver; and
Cynthia Hoecker, who was the emergency room physician who first treated the
boy at Children's Hospital -- to be the most convincing.

Nearly half of the trial was consumed by medical experts from around the
country who offered contradictory opinions about shaken-baby syndrome.

However, Bennett said, the jurors paid less attention to the "hired guns"
and relied mainly on the doctors who dealt with the boy directly.

"I wasn't going to make a decision on the testimony of doctors that have
read a couple articles," he said.

Oliver's mother spoke only briefly after the verdict, saying she was glad
that the trial was finally over. She also urged legislators to strengthen
overseeing of day-care operations.

"Justice was served today," Amaral said.

Eugene Iredale, Basuta's attorney, described the verdict as an injustice.

"Manjit did not hurt this child," he said angrily. "This lady was innocent.
But the jury didn't agree. They were not allowed to hear much of our
evidence."

Iredale said he will appeal the case on the basis of several rulings
unfavorable to the defense by Judge William Kennedy. They include, he said,
the judge's refusal to allow evidence of allegations made by Oliver's
father last year that Amaral had abused the child.

Those accusations, made in the heat of a divorce proceeding, have since
been recanted by the boy's father, who has since joined with Amaral in a
joint wrongful-death lawsuit against Basuta, prosecutor Daniel Goldstein
said in court several weeks ago.

Iredale also said he will appeal the verdict on the basis of Kennedy's
refusal to allow a biomechanical expert who had flown from England to
testify. The expert would have said that it is impossible to shake a child
hard enough to cause fatal injuries and that a short fall could cause
death, Iredale said.

Other medical experts called by the defense, however, did make many of the
same points.

"This verdict just breaks my heart," Iredale said.

Basuta was not charged with murder; instead, under a relatively new law,
she was accused of assaulting a child under the age of 8 in her care and
causing the child's death.

The law carries with it a mandatory sentence of 25 years to life in prison,
the same as first-degree murder.

In this and most criminal cases, jurors are not told what type of penalty a
crime carries. When told of the penalty, juror Bennett was visibly shaken.

"Whoa," he said. "That's unfortunate."

After the verdict, the judge granted Goldstein's request that Basuta's $1.5
million bail, most of which had been raised by her supporters, be revoked
and that she be taken into custody immediately.

Goldstein cited an investigation by his office which he said shows that
Basuta and her husband, natives of India, have been living illegally in the
United States for much of the past decade. He said Basuta and her husband
lied to immigration officials when they said they fled India in 1993
because of persecution due to their Sikh faith.

Goldstein said Basuta was already living in the San Diego area at the time.
He said that to allow her to remain free on bail would be inviting her to
flee the country.

The judge ordered Basuta held without bail and scheduled a sentencing
hearing for July 13.

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Copyright Union-Tribune Publishing Co.

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GUILTY, AND
NO GLAMOUR
Worldwide: The media that covered the
Louise Woodward case with great interest is nowhere
around in the case of Manjit Basuta. To some,
its attitude smacks of racism. Others feel the
disinterest may have made things worse
for Basuta, sentenced to 25 years.

On October 1, Manjit Kaur Basuta was sentenced to 25 years in prison in San Diego. Like Louise Woodward, the English au pair whose trial in Massachusetts dominated world media in 1997, Basuta was accused of angrily shaking a toddler to death. Unlike Woodward, however, Basuta's story barely made news.

"The American press only reported the negative aspects of the trial," says Basuta's brother Sukhdev. "Our papers saw those articles, concluded she was guilty, and decided not to give her too much attention."

Basuta, an India-born Briton, claimed that the March 17, 1998 death of 13-month-old Oliver Smith was an accident. Another boy at her day care centre had mistakenly knocked down Oliver, causing his death. At first Basuta's claim was backed by her housekeeper Christina Carillo, an illegal immigrant. She later changed her story, saying that Basuta had threatened to turn her in to the immigration police if she told the truth. Carillo testified that Basuta shook Oliver and hit his head against the floor when he refused to submit to a diaper change. The child died later in hospital.

Basuta steadfastly maintained her innocence throughout the trial. It cut no ice with Judge Williams Kennedy who described her as "insincere" and "not very credible"; Basuta had allegedly got entry to the US claiming she had been raped by men of the Punjab Police. Giving his verdict the judge said that under new sentencing guidelines for the state of California, he had no choice but to hand down the 25-year sentence.

In contrast, Woodward had her conviction reduced to "manslaughter" from second degree murder, and her sentence reduced to "time served". Woodward went free, having served only the 279 days she had already spent in detention.

There is an obvious difference in the fate of the women in the two very similar cases. Why the difference exists is a hard question to answer and probably depends on the specificity of local laws and the evidence revealed in each case. Yet, of more concern to the public is the fact that Basuta's story received such meagre coverage in the US and British media. As Prof. Hemant Shah of the University of Wisconsin's School of Journalism and Mass Communication noted, the patterns of media coverage reveal a "double standard". The race, ethnicity or class of a subject often effects his or her portrayal in the media. This affects "the language, images and framing of stories", he said. Marginalised groups are often portrayed in ways that are stereotypical or even racist.

For Basuta, 44, her case just did not seem to exist. No publication delved into the forensic detail and psychological analysis that were common during Woodward's case. No one seemed interested in discovering the woman accused of such a heinous crime. Her picture did not grace the front page of any major newspapers, and she was not featured on the major network TV news. No one vocally championed her cause apart from the San Diego Sikh community.

In contrast, the press often painted Woodward as a kind of folk hero. Negative attention was brought upon the Eappens, the parents of the child Woodward cared for, not only for the elitist practice of hiring a nanny but also by Woodward's defence. Woodward's lawyers alleged that the death of 8-month-old Matthew Eappen was the result of a previous injury. For a public who found it hard to believe that such a nice looking girl was capable of killing a child, it seemed a plausible defence. In the end, Judge Hiller Zobel, as quoted in the Los Angeles Times, described Woodward's actions as "characterised by confusion, inexperience, frustration, immaturity and some anger, but not malice", very different from the words printed in association with Basuta.

"Basuta has not had as much interest as Louise Woodward (left) because she's Asian," said Max Clifford, a leading press agent in London. "If she had the kind of support Woodward had, I have no doubt her chances of acquittal would have improved."

Louise Woodward was England's O.J. Simpson. During her trial, support for her in Britain was almost unanimous. Her case dominated front pages and centrespreads, and even replaced television programmes as the jury neared a verdict. Now say Basuta in Britain, and you will be greeted with a furrowed brow from media watchers. Although her plight has been covered, the occasions have been so rare that Max Clifford, arguably the top press agent in the UK, has accused the press of racism. "She's not had as much interest as Woodward because she's Asian," he told The Week.

"At the heart of this case is a racial issue," Clifford added. "If Basuta had the kind of support that Woodward had, I have no doubt her chances of acquittal would have improved."

When The Week spoke to reporters on five national newspapers in the UK, all of them had to be reminded who she was. This lack of attention is epitomised in the experiences of Sarah Graham, a reporter on The Windsor and Eton Express, which covers Acton, Basuta's previous home town. Graham, who has covered her plight since last October, told The Week: "I realised early on I had a big story, but when I called the nationals, they weren't interested. I definitely think racism played a big part in that. Also, Basuta is middle aged and not as attractive as Louise Woodward, so people don't think she's as exciting."

Graham recalled how The Mirror, a leading tabloid, interviewed Basuta's family, but the resulting story was about 200 words long and buried deep inside the paper. "The next month, there was another story about a Briton on trial abroad and the paper ran a list of similar cases next to it. Basuta's trial was missing. When I phoned up to ask why, I was told it wasn't very interesting."

Basuta's brother, Sukhdev Singh, believes there are other issues besides racism to consider. "I don't want to think the press is racist. I think the reaction in the UK is shaped by the selective reporting by the American press. They only reported the negative aspects of the trial. Our papers saw those articles on the Internet, concluded she was guilty, and decided not to give her too much attention. They want to do the right thing, and the right thing is not to support a murderer."

He has an explanation for the American hostility towards her sister. "They don't like the fact that an illegal immigrant is living in an expensive house," said Sukhdev. "They didn't even report that the baby's mother had been accused by her husband of shaking the baby. I agree Manjit should be punished for being an illegal immigrant, but that has nothing to do with this trial."

Phillipa Kennedy, editor of Press Gazette, Britain's leading publication for journalists, believes that race was not an issue. "Nearly everytime a British person is held anywhere the papers go up in arms, so it may seem strange that they haven't leapt to Basuta's defence," she said. "But after the Woodward case, many editors began to question whether they should have been so involved. So it could be that they are exercising a little more caution this time."

With the severity of the sentence handed down to Basuta, The Daily Mail and The Guardian have started to call her family with increasing regularity. Even The Mirror is beginning to show more interest. And Rough Justice, a popular TV series specialising in investigating miscarriages of justice, is to make a programme on her.

But all this may be too little and too late for Basuta.

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(Page B-1 )

Basuta gets prison | Leniency rejected for day-care operator in tot's death

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J. Harry Jones
STAFF WRITER Staff writer

02-Oct-1999 Saturday

A former Carmel Valley day-care operator was sentenced to a prison term of
25 years to life yesterday by a judge who marked her refusal to accept
responsibility for shaking to death a small boy in her care.

"She tried to blame everyone else," Judge William Kennedy said during a
lengthy and emotional San Diego Superior Court hearing broadcast live in
Manjit Basuta's native England.

From the moment Basuta, 44, was brought into the courtroom until she was
led away by deputy marshals three hours later, she wept.

Basuta cried while her attorney, Eugene Iredale, passionately pleaded for
leniency. Iredale argued that Basuta did not mean to harm the boy and that
justice would be served by granting her probation.

She wept while prosecutor Dan Goldstein called her a child killer and a
liar. Basuta shook the 13-month-old boy to death, Goldstein said, and then
tried to cover up her crime.

Basuta wept as her own son tearfully begged for his mother's freedom. She
continued weeping while the mother of the boy, Christopher Evan "Oliver"
Smith, demanded justice and told Basuta she never would forgive her.

Kennedy originally was scheduled to impose sentence in August, but delayed
making a decision until yesterday after questioning whether the punishment
for Basuta's crime was too harsh.

A jury convicted Basuta in June of assaulting a child under her care
resulting in a death. The penalty for such a conviction is the same as
first-degree murder and mandated under state law.

Kennedy said he had only two choices: to impose the life term or grant
Basuta probation.

In the end, Kennedy said, he found many reasons to reject probation --
including Basuta's lack of remorse and her insistence on blaming others for
her crime.

Following the hearing, defense lawyer Iredale said the case will be
appealed.

"How do you express remorse if you're innocent?" Iredale asked. "Sometimes
juries make mistakes. This is one such case."

The prosecution's case against Basuta focused on two elements: expert
medical testimony and the testimony of Cristina Carrillo, Basuta's
housekeeper, who said she saw her employer angrily shake Oliver when the
toddler refused to come to her to have his diaper changed.

Carrillo, a native of Guatemala living here illegally since 1990,
originally told police that Oliver was injured when he was pushed to the
ground by another child March 17, 1998.

Carrillo changed her story three days later and told police that Basuta
shook the boy. She said she originally lied because Basuta threatened
several times to have her deported if she told the truth.

The defense maintained throughout the trial that Carrillo's first story was
the true version of how Oliver died and that the fall she first described
aggravated an older head injury and proved fatal.

Medical experts testified for the prosecution that Oliver's death only
could be attributed to violent shaking. Experts for the defense disagreed,
and one testified a child cannot be killed by shaking.

Oliver's mother, Audrey Amaral, carried a small photo of Oliver that she
set on a courtroom podium as she read from a prepared statement.

"I ask for the maximum sentence for Manjit Basuta, the one who has denied
Oliver the riches of this world," Amaral said. "Oliver will never grow and
mature into the great man I knew he would become."

She spoke of the pain of having to buy a small white suit in which to bury
her son and told Basuta that a lifetime in prison will not be payment
enough for her son's death.

"Oliver's final moments were spent looking into the eyes of rage and
indifference," she said.

Basuta did not respond. Nor did she comment during the hearing. Dressed in
jail blues, Basuta sat bent over at the defense table all morning, sobbing
softly at times, loudly at others.

Two other parents of children cared for at Basuta's licensed center spoke
glowingly of her and described her as incapable of violence.

However, Kennedy disagreed.

"Though she doesn't like to hear it, there is a dark side to her," he said.

Kennedy noted how authorities have proven Basuta lied in order to be
granted asylum in the United States. Basuta swore under oath that she had
been living in India in 1992 and 1993 and had been arrested, beaten and
raped by police because of her Sikh faith.

In fact, Kennedy said, officials have shown Basuta never lived in India,
and was born and raised in England. During the years when she said she was
being persecuted in India, she was already operating her day-care center,
Kennedy said.

Basuta's husband and three sons soon will be deported, according to court
records. Should Basuta ever be released from prison, she, too, would be
deported.

Kennedy said insights into Basuta's character were revealed in her attempt
to cover up her role in Oliver's death by blaming a child, threatening her
housekeeper and then trying to suggest Oliver's mother was somehow
responsible.

The hearing yesterday attracted a horde of media representatives, including
a contingent of the British press, some of whom have portrayed Basuta's
conviction as unjust.

The British Broadcasting Corp. broadcast some of the hearing live in
England and Kennedy said he was tailoring some of his remarks for the
overseas audience.

He explained how this case differs from the trial of British au pair Louise
Woodward in a similar baby death. A Massachusetts judge reduced a
second-degree murder conviction to manslaughter and immediately freed
Woodward. Kennedy said the California law Basuta was convicted of breaking
does not allow for such a reduction.

Basuta's oldest son, Tiko Basuta, begged Kennedy to grant probation.

"She is a giver, a lover and a community helper," Tiko Basuta said. "She's
been looking after people all her life."

At one point he turned to address Oliver's mother, who was sitting in the
courtroom gallery.

"It's not the right thing," Tiko Basuta said. "It's not fair. She tried to
save that child."

The courtroom was packed with spectators, and those who could not get in
listened and watched outside in a hallway where a television monitor was
set up.

Several members of a group calling itself the Shaken Baby Alliance held up
pictures of children who had been killed and cried out "Yes!" when Kennedy
announced he was imposing a prison sentence.

Nearby, Swaram Bhullar, a Basuta family friend, broke into tears when she
heard the sentence announced.

"She would never harm anybody," Bhullar said.

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Copyright Union-Tribune Publishing Co.

 

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