Crawford found not guilty

By RYAN COLLINGWOOD

Staff Writer

COEUR d’ALENE — A jury found Heather L. Crawford not guilty Thursday of murdering 22-month-old Ezra Wilson.

Shoshone County Prosecuting Attorney Keisha Oxendine was misty-eyed as she left the courthouse after hearing the verdict.

“I really appreciated that the jury took the time to look at the evidence and that they were really attentive throughout the entire trial,” Oxendine said. “They took a long time to make their decision and put in the time, but I am certainly disappointed with the verdict.”

Oxendine represented the state in the trial. It was held in Kootenai County because an impartial jury could not be established in Shoshone County where the incident occurred.

After hearing three weeks of testimony and viewing evidence, the jury began deliberations around noon Wednesday.

Prosecutors argued Crawford suffocated the child — the daughter of Crawford’s ex-live-in boyfriend Hiram Wilson — in the their Kingston home the evening of Aug. 22, 2014.

They said she murdered Ezra in an effort to live a “fairy tale life” with Hiram, eliminating the connection of his past marriage with the child’s mother, Naomi Bywaters.

Conversely, the 28-year-old woman’s defense argued investigators never truly looked into other possible suspects and believed there was an investigative bias against the defendant charged with first-degree murder.

Hiram Wilson is the son of former Pinehurst Police Chief, Rocky Wilson, a fact which was regularly brought up by the defense during the course of the trial.

Anne Taylor, Crawford’s defense lawyer, said she believes justice was served.

“The jury did the right thing. They’re a good, smart, hard-working jury,” Taylor said. “Heather has maintained her innocence since August of 2014. She has stood tall and been able to face this with a lot of dignity. We’re so happy that this is finally over. Finally, the truth comes out.”

Crawford, who has three children of her own, claims she woke up to a cold breeze the evening Ezra died before realizing the child wasn’t in her playpen. When she walked into the bathroom, she claims to have seen the words “murder scumbag daughter” written on the mirror before waking Hiram Wilson and finding the tucked-in child in a small bed, unresponsive.

An expert witness for the defense, a Minnesota-based pediatric forensic pathologist, told the jury Tuesday she believed Ezra died of Sudden Unexpected Unexplained Death in Infancy.

In Oxendine’s closing arguments, she detailed numerous inconsistencies in Crawford’s interviews with police. She also noted and pointed to how Crawford said she wanted to commit suicide following the child’s death and refused DNA testing.

“Before I made the charging decision in this case I was confident that we were charging the right person, and that’s all I can say about that,” Oxendine said.