Witness' credibility left up to judge to decide in Bolivar man's murder appeal

A defense attorney for a Bolivar man serving 30 years in prison for the 2011 murder of his newborn daughter wants a judge to decide the credibility of a witness who recently came forward with potentially exculpatory evidence.

If jurors in Clayton Mibroda’s 2013 trial had heard from the new witness, they may not have convicted him, said attorney Tim Andrews.

“I think the verdict likely would’ve been different,” he said.

Mibroda, 33, was convicted of third-degree murder in Natalee’s death. Prosecutors claimed he snapped while caring for the girl on Dec. 27, 2011. According to police, mother Kayla Lichtenfels came home from a doctor’s appointment and found the child unresponsive. Natalee suffered a fractured clavicle, bleeding in her brain, cuts to her mouth and numerous other bruises, prosecutors said.

Mibroda throughout his trial and in subsequent unsuccessful appeals maintained his innocence and said he saw Lichtenfels shaking the child. Lichtenfels has denied involvement in Natalee’s death. Mibroda appeared by video from state prison.

The new witness, Brandon Green, 31, of Indiana County, testified last year during an appeal hearing that the child’s mother confessed to him that she was responsible for the girl’s death. Assistant District Attorney Christina Gongaware said Friday that the appeal comes down to Green’s testimony.

“His credibility is certainly under question,” she said.

Attorneys were ordered to submit briefs outlining their arguments. Friday’s hearing was a continuation of testimony in Mibroda’s Post-Conviction Relief Act appeal taken last summer. Andrews was then permitted time to find evidence corroborating Green’s account of being visited at the Indiana County Jail by two men who asked him questions in January 2012 about the baby’s death.

There are no records he had visitors in that time frame, but Andrews said the jail doesn’t keep logs of who uses an attorney-client room there. Green could not remember who the men were, but he previously testified that he told them about Lichtenfels’ alleged confession.

Neither the defense nor prosecutors had any record of police or private investigators meeting with Green.