A Virginia Beach judge has ordered a new trial for a man convicted of murder after questions emerged regarding the forensic credentials of a key medical examiner who testified for the prosecution.

In January, a jury convicted 20-year-old Aarion Hopkins, a Chesapeake native, of first-degree murder. The verdict relied in part on testimony from Assistant Chief Medical Examiner Fernanda da Silva Lameira, who stated that the victim died from gunshot wounds and identified herself as a board-certified forensic pathologist.

However, prosecutors and defense attorneys learned in the months following the trial that Lameira had provided false documentation regarding her board certification. The Virginia Department of Health terminated Lameira in February after discovering that a letter she submitted as proof of passing the forensic pathology board exam was inauthentic. According to official correspondence, the American Board of Pathology had informed Lameira in December 2024 that she had failed the exam on her first attempt.

At a hearing last week, Circuit Court Judge James Lewis granted Hopkins’s attorney Roger Whitus’s motion for a new trial, describing the decision as necessary for “fundamental fairness.” Whitus had argued that Lameira’s misrepresentation called into question her qualifications and credibility during the original trial, which prevented proper cross-examination.

Prosecutors opposed the motion, maintaining that ample other evidence supported Hopkins’s conviction independent of Lameira’s testimony. Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Brandon Emery noted that Hopkins’s involvement in the attempted robbery and shooting was corroborated by surveillance footage, witness testimony, and Hopkins’s own statements to police. The shooting, captured on a Ring doorbell camera, showed Hopkins and his co-defendant Javon Pollard engaging with the victim before Pollard fired multiple shots. Pollard pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in October.

Emery also argued that Virginia law does not require a medical examiner to be board-certified in forensic pathology to testify on cause of death, and that Lameira was not expected to pass such an exam until two years after starting her position. Despite agreeing with much of the prosecution’s position, Judge Lewis ultimately determined that setting aside the verdict was warranted under the circumstances.

Lameira, who trained in Brazil as a family medicine physician before completing pathology residency and fellowship in the United States, joined the Medical Examiner’s Office full-time in July 2023. She passed clinical and anatomic pathology boards but had not passed the forensic pathology exam. In interviews and court documents, Lameira denied knowing the letter was false and attributed its creation to a former partner without her consent.

The Virginia Beach Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office declined to comment on the ruling, citing ethical constraints ahead of the new trial. Lameira testified in at least 10 murder cases across the region, including Portsmouth, Newport News, Norfolk, Hampton, and Virginia Beach. Hopkins’s case marks the first time a judge has overturned a jury verdict in connection with her testimony.

Hopkins was originally scheduled for sentencing in May, but the proceeding was postponed following the judge’s decision to order a retrial. The new trial date has not been set.