Mistrial Declared in Russo Felony Child-Abuse Case

A mistrial was declared Wednesday in the felony child-abuse case of a wealthy Westlake mother accused of biting her daughter after a lone juror refused to vote the woman guilty, causing a deadlock.

In four different votes, the other 11 jurors agreed that Charlotte Russo committed a felony when she bit her adopted daughter and should face a six-year prison term. But the lone holdout refused to go along with the others, said jury foreman James Farra.

That juror, a 75-year-old man, talked with members of the Russo family outside the courtroom for about an hour after the verdict.

But he refused to discuss with reporters why he voted to acquit Russo, saying only, “The evidence did not conclusively indicate she was guilty.”

Russo showed little emotion when the verdict was announced. Afterward, she exited through a back door of the courtroom without comment.

Wednesday’s verdict ended one of the most dramatic trials in recent county history. Russo and her husband, Richard Russo Sr., were arrested for alleged child abuse May 24, 1993, after some neighbors reported seeing Charlotte Russo beating the girl in the family’s garage.

The verdict also left several other jurors dismayed at not reaching a decision after working on the case for 29 days.

Even the juror who voted to acquit Russo concluded during deliberations that the woman left several bite marks on her daughter when she bit the girl during an altercation last year, several jurors said.

But they said the holdout juror felt that the bites did not cause the victim to suffer a “traumatic injury,” which is required for a felony conviction under state law.

At one point during deliberations, the holdout told other jurors that he felt the law regarding traumatic injuries is unjust, said jury foreman Farra. Other jurors told Deputy Dist. Atty. Dee Corona that the holdout juror explained that he had experienced difficulties raising his own children and could empathize with Russo’s plight, Corona said.

Corona, who has spent the past year compiling evidence against Russo, was visibly dejected when the verdict was announced.

“He didn’t follow the law. He didn’t care what the law said,” Corona said of the holdout juror. She quizzed other jurors for nearly two hours in the courtroom hallway after the verdict.

“He wasn’t able to get beyond the fact that he had had problems with his own children and didn’t find this (conduct by Russo) outside the norm,” Corona said.

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Defense attorney James M. Farley praised the holdout juror, saying he had the courage of his convictions in standing up for what he believed was the right verdict.

“Thank God he was here,” Farley said. “I’m glad I picked him.”

Prosecutors have until July 1 to decide whether to retry Russo, who was shocked that the other 11 jurors voted to convict her, Farley said.

The case began generating publicity after investigators alleged that the Russos had forced the girl to live in the locked quarters of the family’s back-yard racquetball court for months on end to prevent her from violating her salt-free diet.

Richard Russo pleaded guilty in November to misdemeanor child abuse and served a 30-day jail term. He is on three years’ probation.

Charlotte Russo, charged with felony and misdemeanor child abuse, chose to take her case to trial. The felony charge accused Russo of severely biting the girl on the arm.

The misdemeanor charge accused her of forcing the girl to sleep in a back-yard racquetball court for long periods and clawing and hitting the girl.

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After listening to six weeks of testimony--including emotional statements from the victim and Charlotte Russo--the jury convicted Russo of misdemeanor child abuse last week. She faces up to 180 days in jail for that conviction.

On the felony charge, the jury deliberated for two days before advising the court late Tuesday afternoon that it was hopelessly deadlocked.

Jury foreman Farra told Superior Court Judge Charles R. McGrath Wednesday morning that he and the other jurors did not believe that the holdout juror would change his mind.

“It appears to me that we have unanimity on this issue, and that is that the jury is deadlocked,” McGrath said, declaring the mistrial.

During the trial, the girl testified that her mother sank her teeth into her arms and bit her during the incident in the garage that was witnessed by the neighbors in May of last year.

Charlotte Russo, however, testified that she bit the girl in self-defense a day earlier, after the girl attacked her in the kitchen of the family’s home. Wednesday, several jurors said they thought Charlotte Russo lied on the witness stand.

“I didn’t believe everything she said,” said juror James Greer, a Naval fire inspector from Oxnard.

Some jurors also believed the girl also lied, embellishing some of her claims of abuse, they said. But, they said, she was more credible on the stand than her mother.

“There were so many lies on both sides that we felt we had to nit-pick and get to the truth,” said juror August Hardy.

Jurors also said they believed the Russos had good intentions when they adopted the 1-year-old girl, but the parents were frustrated by their daughter’s unwillingness to take orders and her frequent medical problems. The girl has had five heart surgeries, including four since her adoption, according to trial testimony.

“We think that all of this started years ago,” Hardy said.