Brian Rutherford Tells His Story
One man that may soon be looking for a job is Brian Rutherford. A jury acquitted him of child murder charges, more than two years after it happened. NewsChannel 9 is the only television station to talk to Rutherford since his trial in the death of 18 month old Sierra Carpenter ended last week.
Rutherford is 28 years old and says he's trying to put his life back together one day at a time. He spent two and a half years in jail, a time he says you can't re-claim.
Today, he thanked his family, his attorneys and the jury for listening.
Click the link to right to listen to the entire raw interview--------------->
Rutherford says he told the truth from the beginning and in the end it set him free. He stood trial for eight days in the death of Carpenter, the daughter of Rutherford's girlfriend, Traci Carpenter.
In trial, doctors testified little Sierra had been abused, leaving bruises on her head and a brain injury that led to her death.
The little girl and her mother moved in with Rutherford, just two weeks before her death.
Throughout the investigation and in the trial Rutherford maintained his innocence. His defense team showed information the investigation did not, including Traci Carpenter's meth use and hitting the child in the head with a wooden spoon.
This afternoon, Rutherford and his attorneys sat down with us. Rutherford said, "My life was on the line in 12 people's hands and a constant fear of am I going to walk out of here or not."
His lead attorney, Myrlene Marsa, said with Rutherford's life on the line, she fought even harder. "It made me work even harder because they were trying to put an innocent person in prison for a very serious crime."
Rutherford reflected, "The truth came out in trial and I believe that was justice on my part, but for the death of Sierra, justice wasn't served."
Traci Carpenter's personal attorney, Lee Davis, said he does not believe the state will prosecute Carpenter for her daughter's death. She was charged with child neglect.
