The State Court of Appeals has reversed a Durham judge's decision to dismiss murder charges in a case involving claims of mishandled evidence.
In a decision released earlier today, Appeals Court Judge Sam Ervin says Durham Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson erred by dismissing charges against Derrick Allen. The court has ordered new hearings. Allen was accused of killing his girlfriend's daughter in 1998.
Judge Ervin says he and two other judges on the Appeals Court don't agree with Hudson's reasoning in throwing out Allen's child murder charges. But they do agree with Hudson's displeasure with how the state handled blood testing results. The case was one of many that an outside audit said was mishandled by the State Bureau of Investigation. Allen was serving a sentence when the charges were dismissed. He was charged in 1998 in the death and sexual assault of his former girlfriend's daughter. He was babysitting the child when he called 911, saying she was unresponsive
