Uniontown woman seeks bail in daughter’s death case
A Uniontown woman sentenced for third-degree murder in the 2016 death of her 23-month-old daughter is now seeking bail as she petitions the court for a new trial.
Andrea Dusha, 35, appeared before Fayette County Judge Linda Codaro on Monday, where her attorneys, Robert Perkins and Ryan James, argued that prosecutors relied on “erroneous” evidence about how her daughter weighed when she died in 2016.
“Andrea Dusha is in jail for murdering her daughter when, according to the Commonwealth itself, Ms. Dusha’s daughter’s death was not a homicide,” Perkins said.
In 2016, Dusha and her boyfriend, Michael Wright Jr., 41, were living in Fayette County when they were charged with the death of their daughter Lydia. Prosecutors relied on a report from forensic pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht that said the child weighed 10 pounds, and died of malnutrition. Years later, another pathologist looked at the evidence and testified the weight was incorrect. Wecht acknowledged the mistake, prompting both Wright, who is originally from Waynesburg, and Dusha, a Clarksville native, to file post-conviction appeals.
Wright’s appeal was resolved after the state attorney general’s office dismissed his third-degree murder conviction. He pleaded guilty to lesser changes and was sentenced to time served.
Assistant District Attorney Melinda Dellarose argued Dusha’s circumstances differed from her boyfriend’s. Wright was convicted at trial, while Dusha pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and accepted her 9 ½-to-19-year sentence.
“Andrea Dusha chose to plead. She took responsibility for the death of her 23-month-old child,” Dellarose said.
Dusha’s attorney argued that because the state prosecutors already determined Lydia’s death was not a homicide in Wright’s case, that finding should extend to Dusha’s since both cases used the same evidence.
“This is unprecedented; I’ve never seen anything like this before. It’s truly an extraordinary case,” Perkins said. “I think it’s an injustice that Mr. Wright is walking around free while Ms. Dusha is in chains,” Perkins said.
Dusha’s attorneys have argued – unsuccessfully – to remove county prosecutors from her case and have the state attorney general’s office oversee the case as they did Wright’s.
To support Dusha’s request for bail, her attorneys said she’s made the most out of her decade in prison, serving as valedictorian of her GED class, receiving straight A’s in her college-level courses and working as a tutor. While in Fayette County Jail, she has also been an active participant in the county’s IGNITE re-entry program.
“While many people would have given up after experiencing the horrors that Ms. Dusha endured, she persevered,” Perkins said.
He argued that if granted bail, Dusha would be able to aid her mother, who will require “substantial help” as she recovers from a severe leg injury. Dusha’s mother currently lives with her younger sister, Felicia, and Dusha’s 13-year-old son in Greensburg, located in Westmoreland County. Felicia works as an assistant public defender in Pittsburgh.
Codaro said she would make a decision soon on whether to grant bail.