Judge rules teen was coerced into statements in shaken-baby case

By Emanuella Grinberg, Court TV

SEATTLE(Court TV) — A Washington teen accused of murdering a toddler in her care was coerced into making self-incriminating statements, which cannot be used against her at trial, a juvenile court judge ruled Tuesday.

Citing their "unlawfully tainted" and "coercive" nature, Superior Court judge Mary Roberts ruled to suppress five of 10 statements that 13-year-old babysitter Ashley Howes made to police, first as a witness and then as a suspect, in the investigation of the death of 19-month-old Freya Garden.

Roberts said she would allow five other statements, including a letter that Ashley wrote lamenting that she would "go to hell" for what she had done. She found the teen had made the statement freely, without undue pressure being placed on her.

Freya Garden died Jan. 17 from injuries that prosecutors claim are consistent with shaken-baby syndrome, a form of brain injury resulting from excessive shaking.

But a lawyer for Howes said in his opening statement Tuesday morning that other injuries may have been to blame for Freya's death.

"Life is not a cookie cutter," said defense attorney Bryan Hershman, suggesting that the medical examiner who performed the autopsy on Freya "inadvertently" directed the investigation.

"Freya's death may have been the result of trauma from anywhere from 24 to 36 hours before the incident," Hershman said.

In that time, Freya and her sister Madeline spent the weekend with their parents and with Ashley Howes, a friend of the family who came along on a weekend trip to Seattle to care for the children.

Hershman suggested that there may be more to the story than what police learned from Freya's mother, Morningstar Garden, who sat in the audience sobbing and shaking her head.

King County prosecuting attorney Christine Herrman stood by the findings of the autopsy, which she said revealed injuries consistent with shaken-baby syndrome, including subdural hematomas and brain damage.

"Freya Garden died due to the respondent's assaultive behavior toward her," Herrman said. "A child who had these types of injuries would not be normal and the symptoms would have shown up immediately."

Court resumes Tuesday afternoon. The proceedings are being streamed on Court TV Extra.