A Denver County judge’s decision to keep secret the official explanation for the arrests of two people accused of murdering 7-year-old Chandler Grafner is a puzzling and disappointing turn of events in a horrific case.
Prosecutors raised no objections when The Denver Post filed a motion arguing that unsealing the arrest and search affidavits in the case was in the public interest.
However, Judge Melvin Okamoto ruled that defense lawyers for Jon Phillips and Sarah Berry needed time to do their own investigation and took the unusual step of sealing the documents for two months.
We urge Judge Okamoto to reconsider his unwarranted decision.
The tragic case has prompted Coloradans to wonder how a little boy could be starved to death and whether his fate could have been avoided. According to 9News, Chandler Grafner weighed 30 pounds when paramedics arrived at the apartment where he lived with Berry and Phillips. The child died of cardiac arrest, and prosecutors charged Berry and Phillips with murder.
It’s clear from news stories about Chandler’s tangled family ties that the child had a difficult life. He lived with his mother for a time. But in January, a judge gave legal custody of Chandler and his half-brother to a man who had no biological ties to Chandler.
A Denver schools employee told The Post that authorities had made at least four written complaints with Human Services about suspected abuse and neglect of Chandler. Jefferson County social services had contact with Chandler as well. The sealed records could point to serious flaws in the social service system and it’s not impossible to imagine that another child could be at risk while pertinent information languishes under Okamoto’s seal. If the evidence against Phillips and Berry is flimsy or exculpatory, the public ought to know that, too.
While the facts in this case are extraordinary, there need not be anything unusual about the legal process and protections. Defense attorneys routinely have to conduct investigations after criminal allegations have been made public. In ostensibly bending over backward to protect the process, the judge has spread a cloud over it.
