For the second time, a lawyer representing a woman charged in the death of a toddler she was babysitting has withdrawn from the case.
"We will see about appointing a new attorney for the case," Hamilton County Criminal Court Judge Barry Steelman said of Brandi Giannunzio, who is charged in connection to the death of 2-year-old Annie Burkett Shell, a Hixson toddler who died on Aug. 9, 2018, after Giannunzio left the toddler with her fiance.
In July, Chattanooga attorney Brandy Spurgin-Floyd replaced Hilary Hodgkins as Giannunzio's defense lawyer.
But Spurgin-Floyd submitted a motion to be withdrawn from the case since it would potentially cause a conflict of interest during the trial. Spurgin-Floyd had previously represented Giannunzio's fiance, Benjamin Brown, who was found guilty of criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment in connection to Burkett-Shell's death.
Giannunzio left the toddler with Brown for a few hours while she went to the Do or Dye hair salon in Soddy-Daisy, authorities said.
Chattanooga attorney Andrew Trundle volunteered to take over the case, to which Steelman said he'd "think about it."
In a July 25 hearing, Spurgin-Floyd said Brown signed a waiver of the potential conflict of interest, which would enable her to represent Giannunzio. Steelman said Spurgin-Floyd had yet to file those waivers with the court.
"You have a written waiver?" Steelman asked during the Friday hearing.
"A written waiver and that waiver includes a caveat. That caveat is, that if there is a conflict that we're not aware of at this point, I would have to withdraw," Spurgin-Floyd replied.
She explained that she understood conflicts of interest to be fact specific, not case or client specific.
"With the added witness of Mr. Brown, that creates a direct conflict," Spurgin-Floyd said.
"To say that there's no indication that the state would call, essentially, a co-defendant, a co-conspirator is incorrect or disingenuous," Andrew Coyle, the appointed special prosecutor to the case, said.
Coyle prosecuted the case against Brown, who was found guilty of the lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment. He was ordered to serve consecutively two years in jail followed by 11 months and 29 days in a workhouse.
"Mr. Benjamin Brown is listed in the subject of her indictment," Coyle said. "She was on notice that he was going to be called. She was here during the trial, when he was testifying, when he said, 'Brandi Giannunzio told me to tell law enforcement that she was there.'"
Spurgin-Floyd was in the gallery during the course of Brown's trial, and testified as a character witness for Brown since she represented him in a the civil custody case.
Steelman asked about the state's position on calling a witness that could potentially place Spurgin-Floyd in a direct conflict of interest.
"I think the court and Ms. Spurgin should anticipate that the state of Tennessee is going to call Mr. Brown," Coyle said, adding that if that would create a conflicting situation for Spurgin-Floyd, she should act accordingly.
Cameron Williams, the executive assistant district attorney, said Spurgin-Floyd should withdraw.
"She shouldn't have gotten involved in the first place," said Williams, who is lead prosecutor in the case. "Based on the conflict, based on the case, I think she has to withdraw."
Surveillance video of Giannunzio at the hair salon was played for the jury during Brown's trial in February.
Text exchanges between Giannunzio and Brown were read during the trial. In one of the text messages Giannunzio tells Brown the toddler "fell in the bathroom and hit her head," to which Brown responded with "ok."
Soddy-Daisy Police Detective Jake Elrod said there was too much misinformation between Giannunzio and Brown to make a quick arrest in the case but he testified in court that he had suspicions about the pair.
Steelman pushed back the court date to Sept. 2, when he will appoint a new attorney for Giannunzio.
Giannunzio is currently out on bond and facing one count of false reporting a Class D felony, which carries a sentence of two to 12 years in prison and up to $5,000 in fines should she be found guilty; and two counts of accessory after the fact, a Class E felony, which carries a sentence of one to six years in prison and up to $3,000 in fines.
Contact La Shawn Pagán at lpagan@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6476. Follow her on Twitter @LaShawnPagan.