Seaside man’s murder convictions overturned

SEASIDE, Ore. (AP) – The Oregon Court of Appeals has overturned the murder convictions of a Seaside man who was found guilty of killing his girlfriend’s toddler, ruling that bite-mark testimony should not have been allowed as evidence at his trial.

The Daily Astorian reports Randy Roden was sentenced to nearly 40 years in prison in 2016 after a jury found him guilty of murder by abuse, murder, manslaughter, assault and criminal mistreatment in the death of Evangelina Wing and the abuse of her two brothers.

In a Wednesday ruling, the appeals court found the prosecution failed to present an adequate scientific foundation for the expert testimony on bite marks found on the victims.

While the state conceded that admitting the evidence was an error, it argued there was little likelihood it influenced the verdicts.

The appeals court disagreed on the homicide-related counts.

The convictions that were reversed are expected to be retried.