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Gaime's injuries could contain clues
By CHASE SQUIRES, Times Staff Writer DADE CITY -- Attorneys for Kristina Gaime -- accused of killing her young son -- say there may be "foreign bodies" lodged under her skin, and finding evidence there could help her. Gaime's attorney, Bob Nutter, would not comment Thursday on the motion. Prosecutor Phil Van Allen said he thought he knew what Nutter's motion referred to, but he wouldn't comment. The case involving the 37-year-old Land O'Lakes woman is one of the highest profile cases in the county. Gaime is accused of drugging her two sons -- Mathew Rotell, 6, and Adam Rotell, then 8 -- at their townhouse, then loading them into the family minivan in April 1999. Authorities say she directed the van's exhaust into the van, then got inside with them in an apparent murder-suicide attempt. Mathew died, but his brother survived and now lives with his father. Investigators found Gaime inside the home. Her father told authorities she was barely coherent and not making sense. She had suffered a head injury and what appeared to be deep burns or bruises to her left ankle and buttocks. Those injuries, Nutter wrote, might contain valuable information. "The defendant has reason to believe that there may be certain foreign bodies in the areas where she was mysteriously injured," the motion states. "X-rays of the areas, where she was injured, may reveal information which would be useful to the defendant in her defense." One doctor who examined her determined Gaime's injuries were akin to bedsores and could have been caused by passing out at an awkward angle against a hard surface in the van. Gaime's attorneys have filed notice with the court they expect to claim she was insane at the time. Gaime has been in jail since 1999 without bail at the Pasco County jail in Land O'Lakes. Her trial has been delayed numerous times, most recently by surgery she required. A hearing is scheduled for June 12, at which time a trial date could be set, Nutter said. Van Allen predicted a trial date might not be available until mid August at the earliest.
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From today's Pasco Times Accusation of abandonment is just not true If Finn wants respect, he should show some |
