Blogging from Phoenix- Lawyers appointed to represent the 8-year-old St. Johns Arizona boy accused of killing his father and another man last month have asked the judge to throw out the boy’s confession, along with evidence gathered at the crime scene. In motions filed this week by attorneys Benjamin Brewer and Ronald Wood, It is argued the incriminating statements made by the child to detectives and a Child Protective Services worker, should be suppressed because the suspect was not given a Miranda warning.
Prior to a gag order it had been revealed the boy had been beaten nearly a thousand times in the previous couple years, The boy was questioned Nov. 6 by two armed, uniformed officers in a 10-by-10 room. Defense attorneys allege the investigators had already determined the boy might be a suspect, before they interviewed him.
The interrogation or interview depending on your prospective occurred the day after the slayings despite objections from family members; detectives questioned the boy without informing him of his rights or allowing an adult advocate or attorney in the room. The motion contends officer’s exerted improper influence on the boy to obtain statements.
Detectives in the case continue to claim they simply considered the boy a witness to the crime at the time of the interview. Defense attorneys contend police already suspected the child of lying in an earlier interview, and discussed his possible guilt according to witness statements. They also note police lied to the child in pursuit of incriminating statements.
A separate defense motion says fingerprints, shell casings, blood and other evidence from the crime scene should be suppressed because a warrant issued for the search was signed by town Magistrate Butch Gunnells, a friend of the boy’s father. The third-grader, who turns 9 on Monday, is accused in Apache County juvenile court of shooting his 29-year-old father and a friend, Tim Romans, 39, who rented a room at the family residence.
Prosecutors are considering adult charges, but the boy’s ability to participate in his own defense has emerged as a key legal consideration. Motions filed by the defense this week say that at least one psychological examiner concluded the boy is not competent to stand trial. The boy’s attorneys also applied to hire one of the nation’s preeminent experts on false confessions, Prof. Richard Ofshe, as an expert witness in the case
5 users commented in " Eight Year Old Killers Confession Challenged "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a Trackbackin one of thoes interviews the cop led him to say what he did, they should have gotten someone in that room with them b4 the questioning, i havent heard alll thee facts in this case at first i believed he didnnt do it but not sure any more, just saw a scared little boy being questioned by 2 officers, to me that was wrong!
IF that boy was beatn on a regular basis by his father..then I think the boy was acting out in self defense or fear of anothr beatng..while I dont think his father shulda been killd IF the boy killd his dad maybe thats the only way he felt he culd escape the beatings…I think they shuld dig more into this then just a murder charge…maybe that boy endeard hell from his father…the beatings I mean…where is his mother..why wusnt he in her care….see these questions need to be answrd..maybe that boy was in fear of his life…maybe his dad was a drinker or drugger and abused the boy there are so many questions in a situation like this…whois this boys advocate?
There are alot of people that could of done this, if you read the Inverview with Dana a man they both worked with and a Friend of theres it sounds like they have plently of suspects and to just focus on a small child with a so called confession is just crazy. Who in there right mind would want to charge him as an adult? They have treated this small child very unfairly.
Here’s more info doesn’t sound to me like they have the right person whatsoever. After reading this I think there are many reasons to beleive the child didn’t even this.
http://www.november2008stjohnsdoublehomicide.com/applications/DocumentLibraryManager/upload/womack.pdf
Also it all would of had to happen within minutes, sorry I just don’t beleive the boy did it.
Even more terrifying than the possibility of an 8 year boy being accused of murders he probably could not have committed is that there are actually adults wanting to murder him, not much more than a baby. Even worst, is the fact that these adults are the ones we count on to protect us.
A police chief demanding the death of a young child is just disgusting. It makes me question him as a person and even more, him as a law enforcement officer. The district attorney is just as bad, both of them should be made to step down. The police who questioned the boy should be arrested and prosecuted for gross violations of his rights.
What amazes me is that if he were an adult all charges would be dropped because his rights were violated in every way possible. Not having an adult there on the boys side was illegal in every way possible.
The boy had to have been terrified. It seems like there is a big possibility not having anyone to protect him was just a way of life for him. The violence toward him by his step mother proved his dad was not there for him and his mother living in another state proves she was not there for him.
The thought that he may really have come home to find his father and friend dead and then, instead of being comforted and protected he was arrested, locked away and put through hours of interriogation and then hauled off to court, at times in shackles is just heart wrenching. What type of monster could bring himself to shackle a child. I guess the same type of monsters who could do all the injustices that have been done to him since the murders and the same type of monsters that would demand he be murdered.
I have cried for this little boy since the murders hapened. The thought that any one could think an 8 year old could be capable of reloading 8 times is just redicilous.
Why is the step mother not in jail and why would a fit father allow his child to be spanked 5 times over school work, much less anything else. No one knows what goes on behind closed doors. I do not understand how anyone can say there definantly was not abuse in the home. No one was there to see what was going on.
I saw that interview and I think this people are making a big mistake and they are ruinning the rest of this little boy’s life.
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