A 39-year-old man wrongfully incarcerated for 13 years in the death of his girlfriend’s son has been released after a Los Angeles County judge vacated his conviction. Lawyers from LMU Loyola Law School’s Project for the Innocent (LPI), Northern California Innocence Project (NCIP) and a unit of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office had filed together to overturn his conviction.
Olivares was arrested in 2011 following the tragic death of his girlfriend's almost four-year-old son Isiah from an accidental short fall. Jose Olivares was convicted in 2014.
Despite witness after witness who described Olivares as a loving, kind and nurturing father figure to the decedent, the jury relied on now-debunked medical testimony that the fatal injuries could “only” have been caused by what was then commonly referred to as shaken baby syndrome or abusive head trauma (SBS/AHT). They alleged Olivares must have intentionally inflicted the decedent’s injuries. Olivares was acquitted of murder and convicted of child abuse causing death and sentenced to 25 years-to-life in prison.
Since then, medical advances have shown that the same injuries once believed to be reliable indicators of SBS/AHT do occur because of accidental falls of short distances —such as the fall that caused the decedent’s death. Witnessed and videotaped short falls resulting in the same injuries as the decedent have now been documented in peer-reviewed medical literature.
In Olivares’ case, Dr. Judy Melinek, a renowned forensic pathologist, authored a report in 2023 and stated that an accidental short fall was the “reasonable and likely explanation” for the decedent’s injuries.
Additionally, one of the primary prosecution experts who alleged abuse in Olivares’ 2014 trial, Dr. Donald Minckler, reviewed the case at the request of the Habeas Litigation Unit of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office (HABLIT) and has since reversed his finding. He noted in a 2024 report that “as of this point of time, there are no specific indicators of SBS from a pathology point of view” and he “would now revise [his 2014] conclusion to an accidental fall” as the most consistent conclusion for the injuries in this case. Minckler’s report added that “there were no significant bruises or other fractures or skin marks consistent with physical abuse by another person. Also, the family members were adamant that the accused was not an abuser.”
NCIP and LPI filed a joint petition for writ of habeas corpus in June 2023 to secure Olivares’ release. On Aug. 16, 2024, the HABLIT filed a letter with the court conceding that evidence now known to be false was used to convict Olivares at his 2014 trial. Olivares’ conviction was vacated on Sept. 19, 2024. Another division of the D.A.’s office has indicated they might re-try Olivares, and he was held in custody until Oct. 1, when he was released on bail.
"We are grateful to the Habeas Unit of the District Attorney's Office for taking our allegations seriously and conducting a thorough and extensive investigation into the reliability of their original prosecution. We appreciate their acknowledgement that the key expert opinion at trial was false based on that expert’s repudiation of his opinion and advances in the science surrounding shaken-baby syndrome," said Joe Trigilio, Judy & Steve Page Executive Director of LPI. “This case was always unique because of the complete absence of any evidence against Jose other than outdated expert opinions. Now, our goal is to see that Mr. Olivares and his family do not have to endure a retrial proceeding and that they have the space to now heal from a trauma that has impacted all of their lives for too long.”
Despite this progress, the possibility of a retrial remains uncertain. LPI will continue to advocate vigorously on his behalf to prevent further undue hardship.
The LPI is committed to pursuing claims of actual innocence on behalf of those wrongfully convicted of crimes. As the only law school wrongful conviction clinic dedicated to serving Los Angeles County, LPI plays a vital role in addressing the region’s high rate of felony convictions. Since its inception, LPI has successfully exonerated 20 clients who collectively served 490 years in prison for crimes they did not commit.
For more information about the Loyola Project for the Innocent and its mission, please visit www.lls.edu/ProjectfortheInnocent.