MONICA URIBE - 7 months (2005) - Elko NV

ELKO — A jury once again deadlocked in the case against an Elko mother
charged in connection to the 2005 death of her 7-month-old
daughter.

District Court Judge Mike Memeo declared a mistrial Friday in
the case against Salvana Fernandez, who was accused of child abuse resulting in
substantial bodily harm. Fernandez’s daughter Monica Uribe died of malnutrition
due to neglect.

The jury foreman told Memeo they would be unable to reach
a consensus after deliberating since Wednesday.

District Attorney Gary
Woodbury said he does not yet know if his office will continue to pursue charges
against Fernandez in what could be her fourth trial.

Fernandez was
convicted of the crime in 2006 and was sentenced to eight to 20 years in prison.
They found her not guilty of first-degree murder, first-degree murder by means
of child abuse, aiding and abetting murder in the first degree by means of child
abuse and murder in the second degree.
The Nevada Supreme Court granted her a new trial in December 2008 after
ruling jury instructions should have advised the jury that in order to convict
they must find she acted intentionally, unreasonably and knowingly.

Her
second trial in September was declared a mistrial by Memeo after jurors
deadlocked a day after deliberations began.

Woodbury told Memeo his
decision on whether or not to continue with the case would depend on how the
jury split. If it was 11-1 or 10-2 for acquittal, he wouldn’t seek a new trial.
He said the decision could come in about a week.

The child’s father,
Carlos Uribe, was convicted in 2006 of child abuse resulting in substantial
bodily harm and was sentenced to eight to 20 years in prison.

An Elko woman was found guilty of child negligence in the fourth trial held after she was charged in the 2005 starvation death of her infant daughter.A sentencing date has not been set yet for 26-year-old Salvana Fernandez. She and Florencio Carlos Uribe were arrested in February 2005 after their daughter, Monica Uribe, died at the age of 7 months.Fernandez was convicted in 2006 of child abuse or neglect causing substantial bodily harm in the death.But the Nevada Supreme Court granted Fernandez a new trial, saying jurors were given improper instructions.Her second and third trials ended with jurors unable to reach a verdict.Uribe was found guilty of child abuse in 2006 and sentenced to 20 years in prison.