A Fayette County judge on Tuesday granted a new trial to a woman who was imprisoned for starving her young daughter to death.

Andrea Dusha, who has been free on bail while an appeal of her conviction is pending, appeared in court in Uniontown expecting a hearing.

Instead, Fayette County Common Pleas Judge Linda R. Cordaro took no testimony and ruled from the bench.

Cordaro ordered a new trial, just as she did with Michael Wright, Dusha’s former partner and the toddler’s father, who also served time in prison in connection with the girl’s death.

“I’m going to grant the same relief … as I did in Commonwealth v. Michael Wright,” the judge said. “The defendant is granted a new trial.”

The judge’s order will not be appealed, said Fayette County District Attorney Michael Aubele.

“I don’t have to agree with her decision, but I certainly respect it,” Aubele told TribLive. “We will look at the possibility of retrying this case or have the matter resolved another way.

“I’m not really sure.”

Although Aubele didn’t elaborate on what that resolution might be, the options would include reaching a plea agreement.

Rob Perkins, Dusha’s defense attorney, praised the court’s ruling.

“We’re not all the way there, but this was a necessary step in the right direction,” Perkins said.

He said his client is in a good mental space.

“I think relief is an appropriate word. She’s been through hell. She’s spent 10 years in state prison for murdering her daughter. She’s innocent of homicide so there’s a lot of emotions,” Perkins said.

”She’s home now, she’s able to see her sons and trying to reestablish her life after 10 years where she didn’t have the opportunity to be outside and be with her family.”

Both Wright, 41, and Dusha, 35, were convicted of third-degree murder for the March 2016 death of their daughter, Lydia Wright. She was 23 months old.

Dusha pleaded no contest and cooperated with prosecutors in exchange for a sentence of 9½-19 years in prison. She testified against Wright.

At the time, Dr. Cyril Wecht, who performed the autopsy, ruled the cause of death to be malnutrition and dehydration, and the manner of death homicide.

Wecht, who died last year, was a renowned forensic pathologist and the longtime Allegheny County coroner.

He wrote in his report that Lydia weighed only 10 pounds at death.

However, in 2022, Wecht sent an email to Wright’s appellate attorney, recanting the weight of the child.

Wecht said he made a mistake.

Wright’s attorney retained another forensic pathologist, Dr. Jennifer Hammers, who found Lydia must have weighed more than 10 pounds. She ruled Lydia died of natural causes.

Based on that information, Wright was given a new trial.

The state Attorney General’s Office took over the prosecution because of a conflict of interest with Aubele, who was the newly elected district attorney but had previously worked in the offices of Wright’s previous defense attorneys.

The AG’s office withdrew the homicide count and allowed Wright to plead guilty to endangering the welfare of a child. By that time, he had already been granted bail and was sentenced to time served, which was about seven years.

Based on Wecht’s retraction of the weight, Dusha also appealed.

However, the Fayette County District Attorney’s Office, which kept Dusha’s case, fought her petition.

“Our argument up until today was that her conviction should still stand,” Aubele told TribLive.

Now, though, he continued, his office will consider the deal Wright made with the attorney general.

“There’s an argument the commonwealth should speak with one voice,” Aubele said. “I certainly understand their position on that.”

That perspective is counter to what Aubele said last week, when he told TribLive that no case law requires that.

The DA’s office does not have a pathologist to counter Hammers’ opinion that Lydia died of natural causes, Aubele said. He also questioned whether it made sense to retry a case that is nine years old.

“There’s work in front of us now.”

Wright and his defense attorney attended Dusha’s hearing on Tuesday. Wright believes that Hammers’ findings speak for themselves.

“Andrea and I just never had an opportunity to fight for ourselves correctly in Fayette County,” he said. “But now we are, and now you see what’s happened.

“I’m free. She’s free.”

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