Gina Sargent maintained at the trial that Ilana had received her injuries falling down a flight of stairs, despite a preponderance of evidence and the testimony of a string of experts to the contrary. Evidence at the trial revealed that the child also had 97 scars on her body, indicating prior physical abuse. At a 1998 parole hearing, Gina Sargent finally acknowledged she had abused Ilana over a 5 – 7 month period, and said she pushed Ilana downstairs.

District Attorney Todd Riebe said that medical experts agreed at the time that a fall down stairs could not have resulted in the injuries Ilana sustained that day in 1980. Riebe says he has formally petitioned the Governor’s office to reverse the Parole Board decision, and keep Gina Sargent from being released. “Based on the severity and callousness of the crime, the vulnerability of the victim, and the failure of Ms. Sargent to come clean for what she really did to cause Ilana’s death, we are seeking a reversal of the decision,” Riebe said. If the Governor reverses the Parole Board decision, Riebe expects Sargent’s lawyers will appeal this case, possibly to the Supreme Court.