Doctors: Man accused of throwing 8-year-old in trash faking
Doctors: Man accused of throwing 8-year-old in trash faking illness
By Missy Diaz | South Florida Sun-Sentinel
10:48 PM EDT, July 24, 2008
A man charged with kidnapping and raping an 8-year-old girl and then leaving her for dead in a Lake Worth trash bin may be faking his ability to comprehend court proceedings.
Milagro Cunningham, 20, is accused of abducting the girl from the home where they both lived in May 2005. He told police that after sexually assaulting the child, he choked her and threw her into a recycling container, tossing several large rocks on top of her before leaving the scene. Police found the girl about seven hours after the attack when they saw a child's hand wiggling in the rubble.
In 2006, a judge ruled Cunningham incompetent to stand trial. He was sent to the South Florida Evaluation & Treatment Center Annex in Miami for treatment to restore him to competency.
Doctors there believe Cunningham may be "malingering," meaning he's faking his illness to avoid going to trial, according to Assistant State Attorney Lanna Belohlavek.
Assistant Public Defender Travis Dunnington told Palm Beach Circuit Judge Charles Burton Thursday that a defense expert found that Cunningham remains incompetent for trial. Dunnington has said his client has the comprehension and communication skills of a 7- to 9-year-old child. The state wants its expert to re-evaluate Cunningham.
In April, the Department of Children & Families found that Cunningham was restored to competency following treatment at the Miami facility where experts teach incompetent defendants about the workings of the judicial system, according to Belohlavek.
Cunningham came to the United States on a temporary visa in 2003 and never returned to his native Bahamas, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Upon completion of the court case, he will face immigration proceedings and possible deportation.
Missy Diaz can be reached at mdiaz@sun-sentinel.com or 561-228-5505.
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