A divided Ohio Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal of a Green woman serving a life sentence for the 2010 death of toddler.
Wednesday’s 5-2 decision by the court ends the state appeal process for Tiffani Calise, 22, who was convicted in June 2011 of beating and killing 23-month-old Aaliyah Ali while babysitting the child in her home.
In October, a unanimous 9th District Court of Appeals also denied Calise’s appeal.
The Supreme Court declined to accept Calise’s case without issuing a written opinion. Justices Paul Pfeifer and William O’Neill dissented.
Much of Calise’s appeal stemmed from a trial court decision blocking her attorneys from using the testimony of a senior researcher in traumatic brain injuries who alleged the toddler could have died from a fall in a bathtub, as Calise claimed.
Prosecution experts testified that Aaliyah died of head trauma caused from violent shaking and slamming of the girl’s body.
Calise was sentenced to 15 years to life in June after a jury convicted her of murder, involuntary manslaughter and child endangering. She is being held in the Dayton Correctional Institution.
