Two child alleged killers — including a former policeman — could walk free in Arizona where a trial has been stalled due to alleged evidence handling and chain of custody issues.
A Maricopa County Superior Court judge this week said she is weighing whether to dismiss the entire case against Germayne and Lisa Cunningham, whose trial has already started and is costing taxpayers plenty.
Judge Patricia Starr has paused the proceedings after six months following an emergency hearing held on Wednesday, March 11, citing the Goodyear Police Department’s evidence tracking methods.
Defense attorneys had filed a recent motion to dismiss the case that included a series of internal police documents that seem to show detectives and other police employees have admitted that there are major issues with their evidence tracking software, which impacts the chain of custody in this case and possibly many more.
The faulty software “glitches” create “phantom” entries for different dates and times, which led employees to personally update the dates and times, but without verifying any of the information was accurate.
The defense said that none of Goodyear’s evidence can be trusted now. The defense lawyers also accused police of years of covering up the longstanding computer issue.
The prosecution argued that the trial could carry on, but would take longer, with multiple witnesses recalled to the stand. Dozens of pieces of evidence already presented to the jury would also have to be thrown out.
A former Phoenix police officer, Germayn, 45, and his wife, Lisa, 48, are accused of abusing and neglecting Germayne’s 7-year-old daughter and Lisa’s stepdaughter, Sanaa, and causing her 2017 death.
Sanaa officially died from complications of sepsis. An autopsy for her listed the manner of death as unknown.
The murder trial started back in September 2025.
The abuse allegedly occurred between October 2016 to February 2017.
The couple allegedly admitted to keeping the girl in the garage or their laundry room. They used zip-ties to restrain the girl.
Prosecutors had initially sought the death penalty, a decision they later reversed.
During the trial, many witnesses have offered testimony, according to Arizona Family, including Sanaa’s siblings, biological mother, Department of Child Safety workers, teachers, and physicians.
If you suspect child abuse, please call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or visit ChildHelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential, and the hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
