The specifics of Molly's and Alex's court cases made headlines around the country. But recently, in a lengthy appeal motion and in an exclusive interview with Westword, Molly has begun suggesting that the real story of what happened to her son never came out in the courtroom. She now says Alex, his father and their lawyer, Paul McCormick, manipulated and threatened her into not voicing at her trial what really happened to her son. According to her, it involved Alex, who allegedly caused twelve-week-old Jason such serious injuries that the child soon died.
Molly's lawyers, Alison Ruttenberg and Tom Carberry recently nixed an appeal they were pursuing in the Colorado Court of Appeals so they could elaborate on Molly's claims in Boulder District Court and push for a new trial. But yesterday, on the eve of a status conference scheduled for the case, Molly's ex-husband (she and Alex got divorced after her conviction) and his father dropped a bombshell. In two separate filings, they said the judge should hear their side of the story before ruling on Molly's appeal. The Midyettes' lawyers argue that Molly's new story is full of holes, referring to snippets of taped jailhouse conversations they first played for Westword in March that they say indicate Molly is lying to save her own skin.
Why would the two want to weigh in on Molly's appeal? According to Alex's motion, it's because Molly's story, if taken at face value, would hurt his own shot at scoring a new trial. His father's motion, on the other hand, alleges that he's suffered a "complete and general character assassination" at the hands of his former daughter-in-law, and so, as a victim, he deserves a chance to set the record straight.
Another interesting fact about the new motions are the lawyers who filed them. For one thing, McCormick, Alex's lawyer, who became a polarizing figure in the legal drama, is nowhere to be found. Instead, Alex's new legal team features none other than Pamela Mackey, who rose to fame -- and infamy -- by defending Los Angeles Lakers player Kobe Bryant against sexual-assault charges at an Edwards resort in June 2003 and painting his accuser as an emotionally erratic attention-seeker.
If given a chance, will Mackey depict Molly Midyette in the same manner? All we know for sure is that the drama stemming from little Jason Jay Midyette's death will continue. Look below to read the aforementioned motions.
Alex Midyette motion to intervene:
J. Nold Midyette motion to intervene:
More from our Follow That Story archive: "Molly Midyette, sentenced to 16 years for her son Jason's death, speaks out (VIDEO)"
