DINWIDDIE COUNTY, Va. -- Charges were withdrawn Tuesday against two of the former Central State Hospital employees initially charged with second-degree murder in connection to the in-custody death of Irvo Otieno.
Charges against Darian Blackwell, 23, of Petersburg, and Sadarius Williams, 27, North Dinwiddie County have been set aside, outgoing Dinwiddie County Commonwealth's Attorney Ann Cabell Baskervill confirmed.
"The decision to withdraw the charges was heavy but it was not difficult. I believe this places the prosecution of Irvo Otieno’s homicide in the strongest possible position upon my departure," she said. "There is no doubt in my mind that the Commonwealth is now in a position to win when this ultimately goes to trial, and that truth, transparency, and justice will prevail."
In March, Baskervill brought charges against seven Henrico County Sheriff's deputies and three Central State hospital staff members for Otieno's in-custody death.
Earlier this month, she announced was planned to resign from her job effective June 21.
"The origin of this comes from last summer, when I had a traumatic brain injury after a series of concussions, and the last one I was knocked unconscious,” Baskervill explained in an exclusive interview with CBS 6 senior reporter Wayne Covil.
The prosecutor said the Otieno family knew she would not be seeking re-election in November, and thus would likely not be the trial attorney.
"It is important to me to leave this prosecution as strong and winnable as possible, and to ensure we provide truth and answers to Irvo’s family and community," she said. "It is also important for me to refrain, always, from passing the buck, and owning full responsibility for the decisions I make. I put my name on the initial charging documents because I believed it was important to stand up and act in the name of justice. The decision today is made in the same spirit and I believe it will serve justice more than any other course of action would be able to do."
It is unclear who will succeed Baskervill. Virginia law provides for the County Board of Supervisors to petition the Court and request someone be appointed its Commonwealth Attorney if there is a vacancy within six months of Election Day.
Otieno's death was ruled a homicide by the Virginia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, according to his family's lawyers. The cause of death was determined to be "positional and mechanical asphyxia with restraints."
The 28-year-old Henrico man was killed at Central State Hospital, a state-run mental hospital in Dinwiddie County while being admitted in March.
A large group of sheriff's deputies and employees of a Virginia mental hospital pinned patient Otieno to the ground until he was motionless and limp, then began unsuccessful resuscitation efforts, surveillance video showed.
The footage, which has no audio, showed various members of the group struggling with a handcuffed and shackled Otieno over the course of about 20 minutes after he was led into a room at Central State Hospital, where he was going to be admitted on March 6.
For most of that duration, Otieno is on the floor being restrained by a fluctuating group that at one point appeared to reach 10 people pressing down on various parts of his body.
"If the only evidence they have is the videotape, then I would not be at all surprised to see some of these second-degree murder charges, if not all of them, getting reduced or dropped," CBS 6 legal analyst Todd Stone said in a March 21 interview. "I would expect that we would see that happen if it's purely on the video. So you know, here there's going to be witness testimony from people who are in the room at Central State."
CBS 6 has asked Baskervill if she planned to nolle prosse charges against the others charged in this case, but has not heard back. Additionally, CBS 6 has reached out to the Otieno family's attorney and has not yet heard back.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This is a developing story, so anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.
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