ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. — Prosecutors have "significant concerns" that medical records provided to the court about a brain cancer diagnosis for a former Arapahoe County social worker accused of making up a claim of child abuse against an Aurora City Councilwoman were "fabricated," according to court documents.
Robin Niceta was arrested in May 2022 and charged with filing a false child abuse report. At one time, Niceta was in a relationship with former Aurora Police Chief Vanessa Wilson. She was accused of making up the claim of alleged abuse by Councilwoman Danielle Jurinsky who had been critical of Wilson.
The Arapahoe County Department of Human Services (DHS) conducted an assessment and determined Jurinksy did not commit any wrongdoing and closed the case.
Niceta was charged with:
- Attempt to influence a public servant
- False report of child abuse
During a hearing on March 30 of this year in Arapahoe County court, attorneys for Niceta raised the issue of competency for Niceta by citing that she was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a type of brain tumor. The next day, her defense team filed a motion that included a letter from a doctor at a New Mexico oncology clinic outlining her brain tumor diagnosis.
Based on that documentation, the court ordered a competency evaluation but was notified on May 2 by the state mental hospital that the evaluation could not be done because Niceta was out of state and her health status prevented her from traveling for the evaluation.
Prosecutors were provided with the medical records and asked for an independent medical doctor to review them. According to court records, that doctor raised a "number of questions" about their veracity.
As a result, prosecutors attempted to verify the records, which only led to more concerns, court records say.
The concerns outlined in the documents include:
- Unable to locate any record of the doctor in New Mexico who signed Niceta's medical records
- Unable to verify the oncology clinic is real
- MRI images are stock images of glioblastoma found with a basic Google search
The court records indicate the clinic's phone number was a cellphone and that the website is a "godaddy" domain that was created in January. The document goes on to say that the address could not be verified as a valid mailing address in Albuquerque.
In short, prosecutors wrote they had "significant concerns" that the medical records were "fabricated."
Because they could not verify Niceta's medical claims, prosecutors asked the court to order Niceta to return to Colorado for the competency evaluation. As an alternative, prosecutors suggested that Niceta be ordered to turn over "verifiable medical records" of her diagnosis.
On Thursday, 18th Judicial District Judge David Karpel ordered Niceta to appear in person for a hearing set for 1:30 p.m. May 15.
That same day, Niceta's attorneys asked that motions filed in March related to Niceta's incompetency be withdrawn. They also asked that any exhibits filed with those motions be withdrawn. The request was based on new "information that has come to the attention" of the counsel team, according to court records.
On Friday, Niceta's defense attorneys filed motions to withdraw as counsel citing an "irreconcilable conflict." They asked that the motion be heard during the hearing set for Monday.
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