September trial set in child abuse case

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The trial of a Delaware couple accused of child endangerment has been scheduled for September in Delaware County Common Pleas Court.

Natasha Marie Moore, 28, and Abdurahman Mohamed Abdurahman, 24, of Delaware, are both accused in connection with severe injuries to Moore’s 1-year-old son, Phoenyx. They were originally scheduled to stand trial on April 12.

However, before the trial could start, Assistant County Prosecutor Douglas Dumolt filed a motion asking Judge David Gormley to require Moore and Abdurahman to have different attorneys. Dumolt said the pair’s attorney, Brian Jones, could not adequately defend both of them and said it was a conflict of interest.

Gormley agreed and ruled that the pair must have separate attorneys before the case could proceed. Jones filed an appeal with the Fifth District Court of Appeals on March 16 but, in July, he asked that the appeal be dismissed, thus allowing the case to continue. Jones said he is no longer representing Moore and Abdurahman.

Moore will now be represented by public defender Jon Klein and Abdurahman will be represented by Megan Grant, a retained attorney from Columbus.

On July 27, Gormley announced that the trial for both has been scheduled for Sept. 13. He added that the change-of-plea deadline will be Sept. 12.

Moore is charged with two counts of endangering children, which are third-degree felonies, and Abdurahman is charged with felonious assault, a second-degree felony, and two felony counts of endangering children, for allegedly abusing Moore’s son in January. The boy has since been released from the hospital.

Prosecutors allege that Abdurahman hit the baby’s head against a wall several times on Jan. 13 and caused serious injuries.

A grand-jury indictment for Moore states that she created a “substantial risk to the health or safety of the child, by violating a duty of care, protection or support” because she did not stop the abuse.

Prosecutors said the case was reported to police after the couple brought the boy to the hospital.

During an interview with detectives on Jan. 13, Abdurahman said he and Moore were the only people to have been in custody of the boy for the previous 48 hours.

Moore and Abdurahman were originally released on bail from the Delaware County Jail but were later taken into custody for violating the terms of their bail. Specifically, prosecutors said that both used illegal drugs and came into contact with each other, despite clear orders not to.

They were both in the Delaware County Jail Thursday afternoon.

Abdurahman
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2016/08/web1_abdurahman-2.jpgAbdurahman Courtesy photo | Delaware County Jail

Moore
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2016/08/web1_natasha-moore-2.jpgMoore Courtesy photo | Delaware County Jail

By Glenn Battishill

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