Michigan health chief faces a trial decision on Flint manslaughter charges, a timeline of events

FLINT, MI - Nick Lyon's fate rests in the hands of Genesee District Judge David Goggins, who will decide whether criminal the case against him moves forward after a 10-month long preliminary examination.
Lyon, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services director, faces charges including involuntary manslaughter and misconduct in office.
A decision on binding his case over for a jury trial in Genesee Circuit Court is expected Wednesday, July 25.
Here is a look at Lyon's actions during the water crisis and testimony from the preliminary exam: 

Nick Lyon, left, director of Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, listens to defense attorney John Bursch as he delivers his closing argument during Lyon's preliminary examination on Wednesday, July 11, 2018, at Genesee County District Court in Flint, Mich. The head of Michigan's health department, Lyon, is charged with involuntary manslaughter and other crimes. He's accused of not timely alerting the public about a Legionnaires' disease outbreak in the Flint area in 2014 and 2015. (Jake May | MLive.com)

Jan. 28, 2015: State Epidemiologist Corinne Miller informed Lyon of an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease in Genesee County that coincided with a change in the city's water source to the Flint River.

Tim Becker, who served as DHHS deputy director for almost two years, testified that he started asking questions about legionella in Flint's water system.

He was the first to testify, and Becker discussed learning about frustration from the staffat the Genesee County Health Department who were trying to investigate possible legionella cases and the water system.

Becker said it concerned him that the Genesee County Health Department had to send Freedom of Information Act requests to the city of Flint and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality over concerns about legionella in the city's water system.

Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, Director of Pediatric Residency at Hurley Children's Hospital, speaks to more than 60 that gather as doctors call for a public health advisory in relation to Flint's water woes, urging city residents in high risk groups - which include infants on formula and pregnant mothers - not to consume or use the tap water during a press conference Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015 at Hurley Medical Center in Flint. Hanna-Attisha also requested a connection to the Lake Huron water source as soon as possible. (Jake May | MLive.com)

September 2015: Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, a pediatrician at Hurley Medical Center in Flint, announced her research showing a statistically significant increase in elevated blood lead levels in children in Flint since the city's switch of its drinking water source. In response, Lyon directed his staff in an email to provide a "strong statement" that the blood lead levels were due to seasonal fluctuations.

The state took issue with a study linking use of the Flint River as a drinking water source to elevated blood lead levels in children.

Angela Minicuci, a spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, said blood lead levels in Flint have remained fairly steady for children under 16 years old since the city switched from Lake Huron water to the river.

"We are reviewing the results reported by Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, director of Hurley Medical Center's pediatric residency program," Minicuci said. "Our data is not in line with her report."

The data showed that the percentage of Flint infants and children with above average lead levels nearly doubled citywide and had nearly tripled among children in "high risk" areas of lead exposure, according to the study.

The research was based on blood samples from more than 1,700 children living in the city, and underscored Flint's struggles with water quality since switching from Lake Huron water in April 2014. 

Nick Lyon, director of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, speaks about the Flint water crisis during a press conference on Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2016 at City Hall in downtown Flint. (Jake May | MLive.com)

Jan. 13, 2016: Gov. Snyder and Nick Lyon appear at a news conference, announcing to the public for the first time a sharp rise in cases of Legionnaires' disease in Genesee County during the time the city was using the Flint River as its source of water.

Footage from a Senate hearing from April 2016 are played during the preliminary exam for Nick Lyon, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services director, on Thursday Sept. 21, 2017, in Genesee District Court in downtown Flint. This is the first flint water criminal case to advance this far. Lyon, a member of the governor's cabinet, is charged with involuntary manslaughter and misconduct in office and his exam was before Genesee District Judge David J. Goggins. (Jake May | MLive.com)

April 2016: Lyon tells the state Legislature's Joint Select Committee on the Flint Water Public Health Emergency that the issue of the Legionnaires' outbreaks was not brought back to him by staff until September of 2015. He testified to the same committee that he didn't report it to Gov. Snyder until January 2016.

"In September of '15 we looked at it and determined there was an initial number of cases, 73 percent of which were associated with the water. So I think as our department staff was looking at this they were determining what the source was and working with the health department to identify potential causes," Lyon said in an MLive article on April 25, 2016.

Nick Lyon, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services director, sighs as he walks out of the court house after his release on a cash bond of $15,000 per charge, following his arraignment on Thursday, June 15, 2017 at Genesee District Court in downtown Flint. Lyon, who remains on the job at the direction of Gov. Rick Snyder, is charged with involuntary manslaughter and misconduct in office. (Jake May | MLive.com)

June 15, 2017: Lyon is arraigned on charges of involuntary manslaughter and misconduct in office.

Appearing with their attorneys in Genesee District Court, Lyon and Chief Medical Executive Dr. Eden Wells heard the charges against them from Judge Nathaniel Perry, who ordered the two not to speak to potential witnesses in the cases.

Lyon, who was charged with involuntary manslaughter and misconduct in office, was released on a cash bond of $15,000 per charge.

Corinne Miller, former director of the Michigan Bureau of Disease Control Prevention and Epidemiology, is sworn in as a witness on the third day of State Health Director Nick Lyon's preliminary examination on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2017, in Genesee County District Court in downtown Flint. (Terray Sylvester | MLive.com)

Oct. 4, 2017: Corinne Miller, a retired state epidemiologist, testified that it was clear to state health workers, including Lyon, that a Legionnaires' disease outbreak had started in Genesee County in 2014, and that she believed Lyon, her boss, would share the information with Gov. Snyder, something that didn't happen until 2016, according to the governor.

During her second day of testimony for the exam, Miller said officials at DHHS were aware of an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease in Flint and that a suspected cause of the outbreak was Flint having changed its water source to the Flint River in April 2014.

"There was always sensitivity around communicating with the public in Flint and again -- going back in time -- it might have been better (to share the information) even if we didn't have all the answers," Miller said.

Dr. Lawrence Reynolds testifies during the fourth day of Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Nick Lyon's preliminary examination on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017, in Genesee County District Court in downtown Flint. (Terray Sylvester | MLive.com)

Oct. 6, 2017: A member of a Flint water task force appointed by Snyder testifies Lyon was "glib and dismissive" in discussing Flint water issues with the group.

Dr. Lawrence Reynolds, a member of the Flint Water Advisory Task Force, said he and other members of the task force spoke to Lyon in December 2015 or January 2016, but learned little in questioning him.

Reynolds said he asked Lyon during an interview in late 2015 or January 2016 if he had information to share with the task force about the outbreak of Legionnaires' disease.

"His response was, 'That's over,'" Reynolds recalled Lyon having said.

"I really was not sure our inquiry was being taken sufficiently serious ...," he said. 

"Sometimes you get the feeling people have already lawyered up, and that's all you are going to get."

Dr. Paul Kilgore, a Wayne State University professor, listens during the ongoing preliminary examination of Dr. Eden Wells on Monday, April 23, 2018 in Judge William Crawford's courtroom in Genesee County District Court in Flint. (Bronte Wittpenn | MLive.com)

Nov. 2, 2017: A Wayne State University researcher testifies he heard Lyon tell those working on Flint Legionnaires' research, "We can't save everyone, everyone has to die of something' ... or something similar to that."

Dr. Paul Kilgore was a Wayne State University professorand  part of the team asked by Snyder's office to investigate whether Flint water caused the Legionnaire's outbreak.

"It was told to me that, 'We can't save everyone, everyone has to die of something' ... or something similar to that," Kilgore said, echoing his colleague, Dr. Marcus Zervos' recollection of events during testimony in September.

Lyon's attorney, Chip Chamberlain, pressed Kilgore repeatedly over the context of Lyon's statement, emphasizing that the comments were during a budget meeting and his client's words were referring to the "baseline" number of people who die from Legionnaire's disease every year, regardless of an outbreak.

Witness Shawn McElmurry, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Wayne State University, testifies in the ongoing preliminary examination of Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Nick Lyon on Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2017, in Genesee County District Court in downtown Flint. (Terray Sylvester | MLive.com)

Nov. 17, 2017: A researcher attempting to find a cause for Legionnaires' disease outbreaks in Genesee County testifies Lyon didn't want him to find more Legionella bacteria in Flint's water system.

Shawn McElmurry, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, testified he and colleagues he recruited to study Legionnaires' clashed with state officials, including Lyon; Dr. Eden Wells, Michigan's chief medical executive; and Rich Baird, senior advisor to Gov. Rick Snyder.

"There was a general resistance to sampling in general," the professor said of testing he helped to plan and coordinate. The feeling was even more negative when researchers proposed testing for legionella in home water filters that had been supplied by the state during the Flint water crisis.

Special Prosecutor Todd Flood questions a witness during the ongoing preliminary examination of Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Nick Lyon on Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2017, in Genesee County District Court in downtown Flint. (Terray Sylvester | MLive.com)

Feb. 27, 2018: Prosecutors rest their case at Lyon's preliminary examination.

Special prosecutor Todd Flood told Genesee District Court Judge David Goggins he will not call any additional witness in the case after three days of testimony from a Genesee County Health Department official who said Lyon and DHHS did little to help find the cause of the outbreaks in 2014 and 2015, the same time the city used the Flint River for drinking water.

Flood said he would ask that Lyon be bound over to Circuit Court on two involuntary manslaughter charges related to the deaths of Robert Skidmore and John Snyder during the water crisis.

Special Prosecutor Todd Flood points to the faces of John Snyder and Robert Skidmore as he talks about their deaths while delivering his closing argument during the preliminary examination of Nick Lyon on Wednesday, July 11, 2018, at Genesee County District Court in downtown Flint. (Jake May | MLive.com)

March 23, 2018:  A witness for Lyon testifies he believes two men who Flint water prosecutors say died from Legionnaires' disease actually died of other ailments and says the public shouldn't necessarily have been warned of outbreaks of the disease.

Dr. Jeffrey Band, former chief of infectious disease at Beaumont and a tenured faculty member at Oakland University, said he thinks Robert Skidmore died of progressive heart disease and John Snyder died from acute respiratory distress syndrome during the Flint water crisis.

Witnesses have said previously that Skidmore and Snyder's deaths were at least partly related to Legionnaires' disease, and prosecutors claim Lyon bears responsibility for both deaths for failing to warn the public of outbreaks of the disease.

Defense attorney Britt Cobb gives Virginia Tech researcher Marc Edwards a copy of the memo from EPA whistleblower Miguel Del Toral, which he was sent via email in 2015 as he testifies during the 19th day of preliminary examination of Nick Lyon on Monday, March 26, 2018 in front of Genesee District Judge David J. Goggins in Flushing District Court. (Jake May | MLive.com)

March 26, 2018: A researcher who connected the corrosiveness of Flint water with lead contamination and Legionnaires' disease in the city testifies that the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality -- not Lyon -- is primarily responsible for allowing the Flint water crisis to play out.

Marc Edwards, the Virginia Tech professor who helped expose problems in Flint water, said Monday, March 26, that DHHS has earned his trust, and said officials at the state Department of Environmental Quality are primarily to blame for allowing the water emergency.

The professor acknowledged his own problems dealing with DHHS, but maintained his position during sometimes sharp questioning from special prosecutor Todd Flood.

Edwards said DEQ violated the Lead and Copper Rule, leaving Flint with the "devastating" consequences.

"Was the DEQ hiding the lack of corrosion control from the public and other government agencies?" Britt Cobb, an attorney for Lyon asked Edwards.

"Yes," he said.

Edwards told Goggins he did his own, limited testing for Legionella bacteria in homes and large buildings and concluded that the effort to find a cause for the outbreaks should focus on large buildings, particularly hospitals.

Eric Brown, deputy director of federal relations for Gov. Rick Snyder, testifies before Judge David Goggins during Nick Lyon's preliminary examination May 7 in Flushing District Court in Flushing. (Bronte Wittpenn | MLive.com)

May 7, 2018: Witness says Lyon gave early Flint Legionnaires' warning to Gov. Snyder's staff.

Eric Brown, deputy director of federal relations for Snyder, told Judge David Goggins that he and Lyon were among those participating in a conference call about Flint wateron Sept. 18, 2015.

Brown said Lyon "indicated there was an increase" in Legionnaires' in the Flint area at the time -- while the city was still using the Flint River for drinking water -- and that Dennis Muchmore, the governor's chief of staff at the time, was also on the conference call.

Brown said Harvey Hollins, Snyder's director of the Michigan Office of Urban Initiatives, was also on the conference call as were Dan Wyant and Brad Wurfel, former director and communications director for the state Department of Environmental Quality.

Snyder testified before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in March 2016, telling members of Congress that he did not act sooner about problems with Flint's water supply partly because he wasn't told about Legionnaires' issues until 2016.

"As soon as I became aware of it, we held a press conference the next day," Snyder said. "That was clearly a case where the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services should have done more to escalate the issue to get it visible to the public and me."

Defense attorney John Bursch, center, speaks with Special Prosecutor Todd Flood while court is on recess amidst the preliminary examination of Nick Lyon on Wednesday, July 11, 2018, at Genesee County District Court in downtown Flint. (Jake May | MLive.com)

July 11, 2018: Attorneys give closing arguments at preliminary examination for Lyon.

John Bursch, attorney for Lyon, told Goggins that his client was a professional administrator, "not a scientist ... not an epidemiologist," who did what was reasonable as outbreaks of Legionnaires' disease unfolded while the city used the Flint River as its water source.

"There isn't any evidence Mr. Lyon misled the public or anyone else ... Certainly, he isn't personally responsible for everyone in the department," Bursch said.

Special prosecutor Todd Flood has charged Lyon with two counts of involuntary manslaughter for contributing to or causing the deaths of Robert Skidmore and John Snyder, two Genesee County men who he says died of Legionnaires'.

Flood said Lyon was in a position to act quickly to prevent repeated Legionnaires' deaths, had information that warranted stepped-up action, but that he failed to protect or notify the public.

"No one is above the law," Flood said. "This man was invested with powers to protect us ... not to hide things from us."