IN THE COMMON PLEAS COURT OF FRANKLIN COUNTY, OHIO

Kim Hoover :
c/o Cooper & Elliott, LLC :
305 West Nationwide Boulevard :
Columbus, Ohio 43215, :
:
Plaintiff, :
:
v. :
:
State of Ohio :
c/o Dave Yost :
Ohio Attorney General :
30 East Broad Street, 14th Floor :
Columbus, Ohio 43215, :
:
serve also: :
State of Ohio :
c/o Gary Tyack :
Franklin County Prosecutor :
373 South High Street, 14th Floor :
Columbus, Ohio 43215, :
:
Defendant. :

COMPLAINT

For her Complaint, plaintiff Kim Hoover alleges as follows:

1. This case arises out of Kim Hoover’s wrongful conviction and imprisonment for

an alleged crime she did not commit. Kim is completely innocent of the charges against her. She

was wrongfully imprisoned for eighteen years before this court vacated her conviction after

forensic testimony used against her at trial has since proven unreliable and incorrect. Kim seeks a

declaration that she is a wrongfully imprisoned individual under Ohio R.C. § 2743.48.

PARTIES, JURISDICTION, AND VENUE

2. Plaintiff Kim Hoover is an individual residing in Ohio.

3. Defendant State of Ohio is named as the defendant in this action, and the Attorney

General is served with a copy of this complaint, pursuant to R.C. § 2743.48(B)(1).

 4. Jurisdiction and venue are proper in this Court under R.C. § 2743.48(B)(1)

because the underlying criminal action against Kim was initiated in Franklin County and because

R.C. § 2743.48(B)(1) directs that this action be filed in the common pleas court in the county

where the underlying criminal action was initiated.

FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS

5. In 2002, Kim was indicted on multiple felony charges for alleged acts that she did

not commit. The criminal action proceeded in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas,

case number 02 CR 007503.1

6. Kim pled not guilty to the charges.

7. In November 2003, after a trial, Kim was found guilty of the charges against her.

8. Kim was sentenced to a term of imprisonment in a state correctional institution

for the offenses of which she was found guilty.

9. In 2021, Kim filed an amended motion for new trial in this Court.

10. Dr. Patrick Fardal, the forensic pathologist who had performed the autopsy on the

decedent, Samaisha Benson, reviewed his autopsy report, microscopic slides, special stains, and

autopsy photographs. Dr. Fardal also reviewed his criminal trial testimony, the trial testimony of

three other doctors that had testified at Kim’s criminal trial, and Samaisha’s medical records.

11. Whereas at trial Dr. Fardal testified that retinal hemorrhages observed in

Samaisha were indicative of shaken impact syndrome occurring within the two-and-a-half hour

window that Kim was caring for Samaisha, he has now acknowledged that since then, other

causes of retinal hemorrhages have been put forth (such as prolonged hypoxia, coagulation

defects, and increased intracranial pressure). Dr. Fardal now states it cannot be said with medical

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At the time of her arrest on these charges, Kim’s last name was recorded as “Hoover-Moore,” and she was
designated as “Kim Hoover-Moore” in the underlying criminal matter. However, Kim’s legal last name is simply
“Hoover.”
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certainty that the retinal hemorrhages occurred during the window in which Samaisha was in

Kim’s care.

12. Further, whereas at trial Dr. Fardal testified he found no evidence of any old head

injury, Dr. Fardal acknowledges that upon further review of the microscopic sections and special

stains, he found evidence of a remote subdural hemorrhage weeks to a month old. Dr. Fardal

stated that this indicates Samaisha apparently suffered an undiagnosed remote traumatic event to

her head.

13. Dr. Fardal further stated that the remote subdural hemorrhage raises a question as

to whether Samaisha may have suffered a rebleed into her subdural space resulting from the

remote subdural hemorrhage. He explained that a lesser amount of trauma could have caused a

rebleed as compared to what is necessary to cause a primary subdural hemorrhage. He stated that

the microscopic slides, including the special stains, indicate that the bleeding into Samaisha’s

subdural space occurred within four to five days of her death.

14. Dr. Fardal testified at trial that a single shaking with impact caused Samaisha’s

acute subdural hemorrhage, skull fracture, brain swelling, and retinal hemorrhages. But he now

acknowledges that he cannot conclude that Samaisha’s injuries occurred within the window that

Kim was caring for her, and states that the acute changes all occurred within a four-to-five-day

window before Samaisha’s death.

15. Dr. Janice Ophoven, a pediatric forensic pathologist with over thirty years’

experience, also concluded that Samaisha’s injuries are indicative of a rebleed occurring within

four to five days of her death.

16. Samaisha was never in Kim’s care in this four-to-five-day window.

17. The State even had a different neuropathologist review the case. That

neuropathologist also opined that Samaisha’s injuries did not occur while she was in Kim’s care.

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 18. On October 21, 2021, after the prosecutor did not object, this Court granted the

amended motion for new trial.

19. Kim’s conviction was vacated.

20. At the State’s request, the Court entered a Nolle Prosequi to the indictment,

terminating the prosecution.

21. The prosecutor has not brought any further criminal proceeding against Kim for

any act associated with her vacated conviction.

22. No criminal proceeding is pending against Kim for any act associated with her

vacated conviction.

23. The prosecuting attorney has not sought any appeal of right or upon leave of court

in Kim’s case.

24. Kim did not commit the charged offenses or any lesser-included offenses. She is

completely innocent of the charges that were brought against her.

COUNT ONE - DECLARATION OF WRONGFUL IMPRISONMENT

25. Kim incorporates the above allegations as if fully realleged here.

26. Kim seeks a declaration under R.C. § 2743.48 that she is a wrongfully imprisoned

individual.

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 WHEREFORE, plaintiff Kim Hoover seeks judgment in her favor declaring that she is a

wrongfully imprisoned individual, awarding her the costs of this action, and all other relief this

Court deems just.

Respectfully submitted,

/s/ Barton R. Keyes

Barton R. Keyes (0083979)
bartk@cooperelliott.com
Cooper & Elliott, LLC
305 West Nationwide Boulevard
Columbus, Ohio 43215
(614) 481-6000
(614) 481-6001 (Facsimile)

Kort Gatterdam (0040434)

gatterdam@carpenterlipps.com
Carpenter Lipps & Leland LLP
280 Plaza, Suite 1300
280 North High Street
Columbus, Ohio 43215
(614) 365-4100
(614) 365-9145 (Facsimile)

Attorneys for Plaintiff

Kim Hoover