Cynthia Sommer Re-trial

 Not long after returning home to Miramar Marine Corps Air Station in San Diego, CA, Todd Sommer collapsed at the couple’s home. They had just visited Knott’s Berry Farm with their son, and three of Cynthia Sommer’s other children from a previous marriage.

Cindy called 911 and attempted CPR on her husband while on the phone. She was heard saying “Todd, don’t do this to me. What am I going to do without you?”

Cindy worked for a Subway sandwich shop and received minimum wage, but within a month of Todd’s death she received $250,000 in life insurance.

Cindy reported that Todd had become violently ill with nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea just 10 days before his death. They went to the Base clinic on February 10 and 12 for treatment. The cause was thought to be bad egg rolls he had eaten at a roadside gas station. Medical records confirmed her statements.

According to CTV reports the autopsy revealed nothing, and his death was noted as probable heart failure. Although Todd Sommer was cremated, military policy was that tissue samples must be collected and frozen for later testing.

Heavy-metal testing was performed in May of 2003. The revealed arsenic levels in his liver that was more than 1,000 times the acceptable level, as well as elevated arsenic levels in his kidneys and other tissues.

Todd Sommer’s cause of death was changed to “acute arsenic poisoning” and the manner of death was ”homicide”.

The prosecution said that Cynthia Sommer killed her husband and her motive was the insurance money.

Although, investigators admitted that they had no evidence that tied Sommer to the poisoning, Cynthia Sommer was convicted of murder, and sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole. 

For more in depth reading, go to these sources:

http://www.fox6.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=f3c9b27c-57b4-41d8-bd72-2ff87a7df7da&rss=tick

Case Digest
Cloey

UPDATES

12/21/07

Retrial date set for wife accused of killing Marine

A retrial for Cynthia Sommer, a Florida woman accused of fatally poisoning her Marine husband, has been tentatively scheduled for May 14.

After receiving the case yesterday, San Diego Superior Court Judge John Einhorn scheduled a Jan. 25 status conference to confirm the new trial date and other related hearings.
On Jan. 30, 2007, a jury convicted Sommer of murdering her husband, Sgt. Todd Sommer, 23, who collapsed in the couple's bedroom at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station on Feb. 18, 2002. He died at a hospital.

The jury also found that Cynthia Sommer, 34, killed her husband with poison – arsenic – for financial gain, making her eligible for a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

Last month, Judge Peter Deddeh granted a defense request for a new trial, saying Sommer's previous lawyer made several mistakes that may have prejudiced the jury.

The case was assigned to a new judge because Deddeh is moving to a supervising department at the El Cajon courthouse and is not available to retry the case. Read more...

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20071220-0650-1bo20retrial.html

48 Hours Video http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?channel=48HoursOndemand  (As long as link is available)

12/13/07

Bail Denied In Poisoned Marine Husband Case

A judge refused to grant bail Wednesday for a woman facing a retrial on charges she poisoned her Marine husband with arsenic so she could collect his $250,000 life insurance.

Cynthia Sommer, 34, was convicted Jan. 30 of first-degree murder and special circumstances in the February 2002 death of Sgt. Todd Sommer.

Last month, Judge Peter Deddeh said the defendant was entitled to a new trial because mistakes made by defense attorney Robert Udell undermined confidence in the verdict and reduced the chances of a more favorable result.

Sommer's new attorney, Allen Bloom, Wednesday asked the judge to set bail at $400,000, saying the defendant did not pose a danger to the public or present a flight risk if freed from jail. Read more...

http://www.10news.com/news/14833558/detail.html

12/10/07

48 Hours Mystery did an indepth story on the Todd and Cyntha Sommer story this past week end. For those who missed it, they carry their extensive, 6 page, story at their CBS site. It starts out : It was in February 2002 when Cynthia Sommer and her husband Todd, a Marine, were coming home from a family weekend at an amusement park. With their four children, Cynthia and Todd were the very picture of happiness.

But as Bill Lagattuta reports, no one could have predicted the rollercoaster ride was just beginning.

"Came back home on Sunday, got the kids to bed. And he said that his heart felt like it had fluttered. I said, 'Should we go to the hospital?' He said 'No, I'm fine. I'm just gonna go to bed,'" Cynthia remembers.

Hours later, she made a panicked 911 call, when Todd collapsed in the middle of the night in their home. When Todd was pronounced dead a couple of hours later at the hospital, it seemed his heart had just given out.

"They explained it the same as - hear of kids playing baseball and just falling over, that there's no symptoms, there's no warning sign, there's nothing,'" Cynthia remembers. Read Full Story...

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/12/06/48hours/main3583439.shtml

 ALSO: Full Video of that night's story.... (thanks Andrew!)

http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?channel=48HoursOndemand

12/01/07

A new trial was ordered Friday for Cynthia Sommer, a mother of four who was convicted in January of poisoning her Marine husband with arsenic to collect his veteran's benefits.

 "However I rule on this case, we all feel great sorrow that Todd Sommer, a great man and a great Marine, is no longer with us," Judge Peter Deddeh announced minutes before overturning the guilty verdict and granting the defense's motion for a new trial.Deddeh found that Sommer suffered from the ineffective assistance of her previous attorney, Robert Udell.

His ruling spares the 34-year-old mother of four a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole for the 2002 death of her 23-year-old husband, Sgt. Todd Sommer.

http://www.courttv.com/trials/sommer/113007_ctv.html 

A status conference on the case will be held on December 12th.