Trial delayed for Alexander Marr’s mother, her boyfriend in boy’s death in Bradenton

The trial in the case against Alexander Marr's mother and her boyfriend in the 4-year-old boy's death has been delayed.

Dianna Marr, 33, and Trevor Cardarelle, 27, are each charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child by culpable negligence.

At about noon April 12, 2015, Manatee County sheriff’s deputies received a 911 call that the child was unresponsive at the duplex in the 700 block of 59th Avenue Terrace West, where Alexander lived with his mother and Cardarelle. Alexander was pronounced dead at the home.

An autopsy ruled Alexander’s death a homicide after finding he had suffered traumatic injuries to his head and torso.

Marr is out of jail on a $15,000 bond. Cardarelle has remained held without bond in the Manatee County jail since his April 12, 2015 arrest on a charge of being a convicted felon in possession of ammunition, a violation of his probation for a grand theft conviction.

Marr and Cardarelle were each set to stand trial separately during the two-week period beginning Tuesday.

Early Friday morning, a judge granted requests by both defenses to delay both trials. Both defense attorneys say they received additional evidence — a report from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and six CDs containing information retrieved from Marr and Cardarelle’s cell phones — only a week ago, according to court records.

Marr and Cardarelle now are scheduled to appear in court at 9:30 a.m. July 6 for a case management hearing, during which a new trial date will likely be chosen.

Both attorneys say they need additional time to review the new evidence and prepare for trial. The “extensive records and media files” include photos and videos.

“In addition to the sheer volume, there is confusion and conflicting data as to the times messages are received or sent and as such additional time is required to pinpoint exact times in the phone records,” Assistant Regional Counsel Jennifer Kane wrote in her motion to the court.

Kane, defense attorney for Marr, also states the defense will need to depose the FDLE crime laboratory analyst who retrieved the data from both cell phones. The defense will be deposing other experts based on this evidence as well, she adds.

Cardarelle’s defense attorney Adam Bantner says the prosecution had requested the evidence since January.

Assistant State Attorney Garrett Franzen did not object to either request to continue to the trials, court records state. If convicted of the aggravated manslaughter as charged, Marr and Cardarelle each face up to 30 years in prison.

Cardarelle will also be tried for his violation of probation during the same trial, for which he could face five years in prison. His charge for possession of ammunition is a separate case that will be tried separately, and holds a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.

Marr's mother, Karla Kay Gray, 54, had been charged with failure to report child abuse, but last week the State Attorney’s Office dropped the charge, citing it could not prove what she knew. Gray’s defense attorney then filed a motion requesting the presiding judge grant her protection from having to testify against her daughter. If compelled to testify, Gray’s attorney indicated she would invoke her Fifth Amendment right.

Marr’s defense has also filed a motion asking the judge to grant Gray immunity if she testifies.

This story was originally published May 27, 2016 at 11:57 AM with the headline "Trial delayed for Alexander Marr’s mother, her boyfriend in boy’s death in Bradenton."