Goodyear detective admits he knew about evidence problems months before Cunningham trial

Added: 2026-05-17

[00:00:00]Do you solemnly swear the testimony you're about to give will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God? Yes. See this detective? He just took the stand at a special hearing to decide if a child murder case should be dismissed. I'm ABC 15 investigator Ashley Holden. This hearing is taking place because Goodyear police is bad at tracking evidence, and that detective is just the first of many police officials who are being forced to testify under oath about what's going on. This is detective Noah Yo. He testified all day, and later this week we also expect to hear from Goodyear's Chief Brian Isitt, several property and evidence supervisors, and maybe even prosecutors. This is all happening in the murder case against Jermaine and Lisa Cunningham. The couple is charged in the death of their 7-year-old daughter almost a decade ago, accused of abuse and not getting her medical care quick enough leading to her death. Their case came to a halt in the middle of trial after it was discovered that Goodyear police can't prove chain of custody for evidence going back years.

[00:00:58]And that takes us back to detective Yo on the stand. He testified how big of a deal this is, with defense attorneys getting him to acknowledge their case pretty much hinges on two major pieces of evidence that are now at risk, the Cunningham cell phones. Right? That's all the timeline. That's who called who.

[00:01:15]That's who waited.

[00:01:16]Isn't that everything?

[00:01:19]There's no other evidence. It was the timing, right?

[00:01:22]Yes. And that can only be established from the phone. Correct. Defense attorneys also went over messages, interview transcripts, and evidence logs in court. That detective eventually admitting he knew there were evidence issues with phones in the Cunningham case back in May 2025, months before trial ever started, and didn't tell the defense or document them in a report. I don't care whether you assume we knew it or not, you failed to disclose it, correct?

[00:01:47]>> Yes.

[00:01:48]It could take several more weeks to find out what happens next. The evidentiary hearing is supposed to run through most of this week with even more dates possibly spread throughout the next couple of months. We're the only station in court covering this major issue, so we'll be sure to let you know what's happening next. Ashley Holden, ABC 15, Arizona.