A lice infestation interrupted the second day of trial for a grandmother accused of killing her 2-year-old granddaughter.
A judge ordered the court room in Fairfax County vacated after it was discovered the defendant, Carmela Dela Rosa, was carrying head lice.
Court was recessed while she was sent back to jail for a change of clothes. The court room where the trial started Tuesday morning will be closed for 48 hours for delousing treatment, and the trial will continue in another room.
It was not immediately clear whether Dela Rosa picked up the lice in jail or somewhere else.
While court was in session on Tuesday, emotional testimony was heard from witnesses and the father of the victim.
A woman testified who said she was there the day in November when Dela Rosa is accused of throwing her 2-year-old granddaughter, Angelyn Ogdoc, off a parking garage walkway.
The female witness, who was standing below the walkway, said she thought that 2-year-old was a bird in the air until she realized it was in fact a toddler. The witness said the child was still breathing after falling 50 feet.
Sam Campiano, first officer on the scene, also testified in court Tuesday. The officer said under oath that he asked Dela Rosa if she was responsible for the child's fall. According to Campiano, Dela Rosa said, "I did it. I threw the baby off."
The victim's father, James Ogdoc, took the stand, and recounted seeing his child in the hospital receiving treatment. Ogdoc said, "They couldn't resuscitate her. They eventually gave up because the brain damage was too much." He had to interrupt his testimony because he became too emotional.
On Monday during opening arguments, prosecutors said that Dela Rosa intentionally killed the child out of anger towards James Ogdoc, her son-in-law. According to prosecutors, Dela Rosa did not forgive Ogdoc for getting her daughter pregnant out of wedlock.
Dela Rosa's attorneys said she was insane at the time of the incident.
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