Woman Acquitted Of Endangering Child Ukrainian Immigrant Had Left Infant In Hot Car

Three weeks after coming to America, Olena Bezzubenkova found herself handcuffed and in tears, booked into jail for leaving her infant son alone in a hot car.

A quick not-guilty verdict by a Spokane County jury Wednesday eased the pain of that memory.

Moments after hearing the verdict, Bezzubenkova wept again - this time from relief.

The 25-year-old Ukrainian mother of four hugged her husband Victor, then told attorney Jim Kane “thank you” in halting English.

The six-man, six-woman Superior Court jury deliberated for 45 minutes before clearing her of reckless endangerment. The charge carried the threat of a year in jail and a $5,000 fine.

Jurors agreed Bezzubenkova was wrong for leaving 15-month-old Daniel inside the car last summer in a Deaconess Medical Center parking lot.

“We agreed it was definitely not a smart thing she did,” juror Paul Yeafoli said. “But we agreed also that the state didn’t establish that this was a crime.”

Police arrested Bezzubenkova the afternoon of July 29 - minutes after finding the child screaming and sweating in a safety seat.

Bezzubenkova’s sister, Nadezhda Chekulayeva, had accompanied her to a doctor’s office for a 2:30 p.m. appointment.

Leaving Bezzubenkova in the waiting room, Chekulayeva testified through an interpreter that she returned to the car to find police and security guards taking the child to the emergency room.

Deputy Prosecutor Mary Ann Brady estimated the child was left alone for about 20 minutes with only small cracks in the windows for ventilation.

Doctors examined Daniel and found no evidence of heat exhaustion or dehydration.

In her closing argument Brady said Bezzubenkova seemed to be a dutiful, caring parent.

“But even good people can sometimes do reckless things,” the prosecutor told the jury in her closing argument.

Kane didn’t use Bezzubenkova’s recent arrival from another country as an excuse.

“This is not a cultural misunderstanding,” Kane said, instead arguing that the boy’s health was never seriously at risk.

“Give Olena and her sister credit,” he said to jurors. “They knew that it was a warm day. But they also planned to have Olena go inside, while her sister would then return to the car - which is what she did.”

Meeting with jurors afterward, Brady said they asked why the woman had been charged with such a serious crime.

“I explained that there was nothing lower than reckless endangerment. There is no similar crime just for negligence,” the prosecutor said.

Bezzubenkova and her husband said the arrest and trial came as a shock. In Ukraine, they never had to appear in a courtroom, both said.

They said they left for America last year because they were persecuted by authorities for being members of a Baptist congregation.

Speaking through an interpreter, Bezzubenkova summed up her feelings about the trial.

“It is very different and very hard,” she said.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo