Dentist Lilly Geyer was found not guilty Friday in the death of her 3-year-old patient.

After a month on trial, Geyer was found not guilty on manslaughter and assault charges.

Geyer was on trial in connection of the death of Finley Boyle, 3, in 2013.

There was a mix of shock and relief after Lilly Geyer was found not guilty on all counts.

Geyer shed tears of joy and hugged her children in court after the verdict was read.

Finley Boyle’s family sat stoic and silent after the verdict. Clearly upset at the decision. Finley’s mother Ashley was not in court.

The verdict came nearly five years to the day Ashley took Finley into Geyer’s dentist office for root canals, which required Finley to be put to sleep.

Prosecutors say that’s where Finley stopped breathing and her heart stopped beating after she was given sedatives and anesthesia.

Geyer’s defense says the dentist was not told that Finley suffered from an upper respiratory infection weeks before the procedure.

Though the verdict was in Geyer’s favor and her attorney’s are happy with the decision, defense attorney Michael Green said it’s no cause for celebration.



“When you get down to it, we have a little girl who’s gone. We have a family that will never be out of mourning. I have a young dentist who devoted her life to children, she closed her practice down. She’ll never practice again, and every day she sees her daughter she thinks of Finley,” Green said.

“It’s not a day to celebrate our hearts go out to finley boyle and her family. we are relieved obviously though. our position all along is that this should have never been a criminal case,” said attorney Tommy Otake. Both Otake and Green represented Geyer in the case.

Had Geyer been found guilty, the case could have potentially had a much larger impact on the medical community.

“This case could have opened the door in Hawaii for nurses, doctors, health care providers for somebody at the attorney general’s office decides you know maybe it wasn’t just negligence maybe it was manslaughter by omission or wreckless conduct,” said Green.

Finley Boyle’s family and the prosecuting attorney declined to comment.

Green said that Geyer still needs to go before the licensing board to determine whether her license will be revoked.