(Atlantic, Iowa) – Trial in the case of an Anita woman charged with first-degree murder and child endangerment, ended for the day Monday, at 4-p.m., and will continue with additional witness testimony for the Defense resuming at 8-a.m. on Tuesday. During Monday’s proceedings, 18 people appeared before the jury as character witnesses, and to testify they would have no problem sending their kids to Alison Dorsey, or continuing to send their kids to her.

They spoke of her open door policy, how organized she was, and how she would have no hesitation to call 9-1-1 if she thought a child in her care needed help beyond what she could offer at her unlicensed daycare. Three EMT’s testified when they arrived at the home of Susan Marnin, in Massena, law enforcement and other emergency personnel were on the scene offering immediate assistance to a baby who was not breathing and had no pulse. Alison Dorsey was using Marnin’s home for a daycare center. Marnin said Dorsey was always soft spoken, calm and would sing and dance with the kids. She said “Ali” was like a sister to her. She had four kids go through her daycare.

Adams County Attorney Andrew Knuth said he’s known Ali’s father for 30-years, and has known her since she was a kid. He described her as “easy going.” Defense Attorney Deshawne Lee Birdsell asked Knuth more about Ali’s character.

Stacey Boudreau traveled all the way from Whitewater, Wisconsin to offer her support for Dorsey. She said she grew up with Ali and considers her a sister. Dorsey also cared for Boudreau’s children every summer since 2008 while Boudreau (Boo’d-row) coaches as a summer camp.

Several of the Defense’s witnesses choked-up when they spoke of how loving and caring Dorsey is. Barry Bower is the CAM North Elementary Principal and Head Football Coach. He said he has four children, with the youngest going to Ali’s Daycare.

Earlier in the day, Monday, the Defense called Doctor Christopher Van-Ee (Van EEE), who has a Ph.D in Biomechanics. He provided examples of how injuries to the skull and other body parts could occur, through research conducted on child and adult crash test dummies. He made clear however, that he was not a pediatric physician, therefore he could not speak to how Luka Hodges’ injuries were received or if there was proof they occurred the day of the 9-1-1 call on Oct. 7, 2019, in Massena.

Dr. Van-Ee, who studies and has written papers on Impact Biomechanics, Accident Reconstruction, Mechanical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Injury Causation, said reports on the effects of shaking a baby are often inconclusive according to science, but leaves open the possibility injury could occur. He said he didn’t know if Luka had been shaken on the day of the 9-1-1 call, or if an injury occurred in the days before that perhaps wasn’t detected. The child was dropped-off at home daycare in Massena, being managed by  Alison Dorsey, of Anita, at the time.

The Defense then called Cynthia Gossman, whose children have been cared for by Dorsey in the past. She testified Luka was “Staring-off to the left” as she held him and didn’t not appear to want to eat. She questioned whether the child has some sort of a learning disability. Gossman was holding the baby while he was being dressed at the daycare center. The third witness of the morning, was Michelle Williams, an EMT who arrived on the scene minutes after the 9-1-1 call came in. She testified former Cass County Sheriff’s Deputy Bill Ayers was the first to arrive and began performing CPR after trying to determine whether or not the child was choking. Ayers’ bodycam video showed the rescue attempts underway before Luka was transported by ambulance to the Cass County Memorial Hospital.

Ayers testified last week, along with two other, forensic pathologists.