COLUMBIA, S.C. — The man who helped put an Irmo daycare worker and child killer, Gail Cutro, behind bars said it was a complicated case to present to a jury.
Former prosecutor--and now defense attorney--Johnny Gasser joined author David Helcher and News19's Andrea Mock to discuss the case, which shocked South Carolina and the nation back in 1993.
In July of 2000, Cutro was found guilty of killing two babies at her home daycare in Irmo. Gasser, who was then a Richland County prosecutor, led the case. He successfully argued that Cutro killed both 4-month-old Parker Colson and Ashlan Daniel in 1993 by shaking the babies while caring for them.
A third baby, Asher Maier, was also hurt in her care, suffering permanent brain damage, allegedly from shaken baby syndrome. Cutro, however, was not convicted in that case. All three incidents happened within eight months.
"It was so shocking to the greater Columbia community, first when we brought charges against her, and then throughout the multi-year legal process," Gasser recalled.
Cutro's first trial ended in a conviction, but that was overturned. They tried her again, but that case resulted in a hung jury, with 11 jurors voting to convict with just one holdout. The third trial resulted in a guilty verdict that was upheld on appeal.
Helcher has written a book, "In Good Hands," detailing the case. He said for years after the trial, Cutro wouldn't admit guilt at all. About 10 years ago, however, there was a crack in her denials when the parole board asked her to explain her actions.
"On this occasion, for the first time- I think she made a calculation in advance, she paused - she said, 'I think my husband was a lot more involved in this than people really understand,'" Helcher said. "So, she didn't admit, but she didn't deny. So, that constitutes an admission in my book."
Gasser said that, back in the 1990s, there weren't forensic pediatric experts in South Carolina, so they had to hire experts from outside the state, including outside the country, on shaken baby syndrome. "We were plowing new ground from a law enforcement and prosecution perspective," Gasser said.
But he said those experts proved decisive, as many jurors told him after the trials that they found their testimony extremely credible, which swayed their vote.
"[The jurors] needed to know beyond a reasonable doubt that the children were indeed murdered," Gasser said.
He also said that after all these years, he sees why it was a case that was difficult for the public to understand how it could have happened. "You just don't see something like this happening in a small city," Gasser said. "[She] was extremely active in her church... [and] had many friends and supporters throughout this whole process."
Cutro continues to serve her life sentence at Leath Correctional in Greenwood, South Carolina.
Hechler will host a book signing with Gasser on Thursday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at All Good Books at 734 Harden Street in Columbia.