During a Wednesday morning hearing, prosecutors said they haven't decided if a Frisco mother charged with murdering her 10-year-old son will be indicted because they are still waiting for a report from the Frisco police department.
Pallavi Dhawan is still charged with murdering Arnav Dhawan, even though the autopsy concluded he likely died from natural causes.
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“We may end up indicting Pallavi [Dhawan]. We may not indict Pallavi. We need time to process all of the evidence, and to not have to question why we took one particular item and why we still have it.” Collin County prosecutors said in court.
During the hearing, a Collin County judge ruled that Frisco police must return a number of items to the family of Arnav Dhawan family by the end of the week. The items seized by investigators during the case included family photographs, Arnav's school journals, a school backpack, the family checkbook, and $1600 cash — all of which will be returned to the family.
However, police will not return the family's Lexus car, because the electronics console has been removed. Prosecutors said it's being digitally analyzed by the same lab contracted by the U.S. Secret Service in Washington D.C.
Arnav Dhawan's father, Sumeet, said the car isn't safe to drive if the electronics center has been removed.
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With tears in his eyes, Sumeet Dhawan explained his frustration that after months of trying to work with Frisco police he still doesn't have his son's school items back yet, nor have detectives returned precious family photographs.
"I'm sorry, they have Arnav’s school bag, his journals, all his personal stuff. Why can't they give those things back?" said Sumeet Dhawan. "We don't care about the passports or the fax machine or the car, they can keep that if they must, but why do they need his school bag"
Sumeet expressed sadness, but his attorney — David Finn — was angry.
"I have never seen more stonewalling and a lack of professionalism on the part of law enforcement in my entire career,” Finn said.
"They’re dragging their feet, they’re stonewalling, they’re fighting me every step of the way. They know, quite frankly, what we know — which is they have no case, she didn’t hurt Arnav in any way," Finn said.
Sumeet said his wife and his family can't find peace until the murder charge is dealt with, one way or another.
"We are not afraid of the facts, we know there's nothing wrong in this case. That's what we've been telling them. Please move the case forward, because we have nothing to hid," Sumeet Dhawan said.
Finn said that Frisco police are "harassing" the Dhawan family by keeping hundreds of items with no evidentiary value. He said it's time to either move forward with a criminal case, or drop the charge.
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"When was the last time you heard a criminal defense attorney not just asking, but pleading with police to send a first-degree murder case to the grand jury?" Finn asked. "But that’s exactly what they're doing."
NBC 5 asked Finn if he's considering civil litigation against the police department. His response: "Stay tuned."
NBC 5's Randy McIlwain contributed to this story.
