Court: New trial for daycare operators

SANTA FE – The state Supreme Court on Thursday ordered a new trial for the Portales daycare providers who left two children unattended in a hot car in July 2017.

Sandi and Mary Taylor in 2019 were each sentenced to 36 years in prison after they were convicted of reckless child abuse. One of the girls in their care – 22-month-old Maliyah Jones -- died, while the other -- 23-month-old Aubri Loya -- suffered serious injury before recovering.

According to a news release from the Court:

“In a split decision, the Court concluded that instructions to the jury about the conduct necessary for the defendants to have committed reckless child abuse ‘confused and misdirected the jury and allowed it to make a finding of guilt on a legally inadequate basis.’”

The Taylors have been free from custody since 2020 when the court released them pending their appeal based on the jury instruction.

Erika Tafoya, the mother of Maliyah, called the Court’s decision “absolutely ridiculous.”

“But the evidence is still there,” she wrote Friday in an interview with The News via Facebook Messenger. “The fact that they are solely responsible for my daughter’s death and for the harm they caused Aubri remains.”

Tye Harmon, the attorney representing the Taylors, said his clients are relieved a new trial was ordered.

“They were happy to hear the jury was not properly instructed. We think it will narrow what would be put before a jury in the future if there is another trial.”

District Attorney Quentin Ray said the 9th Judicial District Court will set a new trial date but he wasn’t sure when.

“We don’t have to refile … (the) case will be put back on the trial docket,” he said.

Asked if he would consider a plea in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling, he said, “Not at this time.”

Harmon said he expects to talk with Ray sometime this week and discuss what happens next.

“I will say the case is now close to seven years old,” Harmon said. “A new trial is going to require everybody to be re-interviewed, so there’s going to be a lot of work involved to do this again.”

His mother-daughter clients both live in the area, he said.

“Sandi is raising her child … Mary is retired and helps take care of a family member.”

He said they spent 19 months in custody before their release on appeal in September 2020.

Children left in hot car 2-plus hours

Maliyah and Aubri, along with other children in the care of Taylor’s Tots daycare in Portales, were taken on a field trip on July 25, 2017. When they returned to the residential daycare, the two toddlers were forgotten and left alone in the car for two hours and 40 minutes, prosecutors said. Temperatures outside at the time exceeded 90 degrees.

“No one else is responsible but those two ladies,” Tafoya said on Friday. “They left them in that hot car on that hot day, and only them. It was their job to take care of these children and they failed terribly.

“I just wish they would take responsibility already so my baby can rest. … They continue to call it an accident, when it cost my baby her whole life! They have never come to me and told me sorry, nothing. I want them to get convicted and sentenced and never be able to do this to any child ever again.”

‘And/or’ structure led to new trial

A news release from the New Mexico Supreme Court stated the error in jury instruction occurred when the jury was allowed to return guilty verdicts solely on one or more of the defendants’ alleged Children Youth and Families Department violations.

“As instructed, the jury could have convicted the Taylors for failing to obtain CYFD permission to transport the children in their personal vehicles, the majority wrote, but ‘this technical violation of the agency’s policies could not support a stand-alone finding that Defendants placed the Victims in any direct line of danger,’’’ the news release stated.

In a dissenting opinion, District Judge James T. Martin disagreed that the jury instructions were wrong.

The news release stated:

“Specifically, the district court instructed the jury that it must find the Defendants recklessly disregarded a ‘substantial and unjustifiable risk of serious harm’ by failing to follow CYFD procedures in caring for the Victims and/or failing to remove the Victims from the vehicle,” wrote Judge Martin, who was designated to participate in the case because of the recusal of a member of the Court.

“A reasonable juror can understand that the ‘and/or’ structure of the elements instruction simply provided alternative ways for the jury to unanimously agree on any event or events that resulted in the failure of Defendants to remove the Victims from the vehicle that exposed them to fatally high temperatures,” the dissenting opinion stated.

Kristen Ashmore, the mother of Aubri Loya, could not be reached for comment last week.

Tafoya said the court proceedings have been a nightmare for her and her family.

“I will deal with this loss for the rest of my life and all of my family too. It’s been seven years already, but how could I ever have any closure when they won’t even take responsibility for what they have done? And now they want to put us all through this again.”