BELFAST — The judge at a Thursday hearing to suppress statements made to police by the Troy mother accused of killing her infant son this year has requested written briefings on the arguments.
Miranda Hopkins, 32, was indicted in February on a charge of manslaughter in the death of her 7-week-old son, Jaxson Hopkins. Her defense attorneys, Christopher K. MacLean and Laura P. Shaw, are seeking to suppress statements Hopkins made during interviews with police, stating in their motions that none of Hopkins’ statements can be considered voluntary based on the way the police handled the interviews, questioning Hopkins for 12 hours at one time and not allowing her to call family members.
Two separate motions advanced by defense attorneys to Judge Robert Murray seek to suppress statements Hopkins made to law enforcement Jan. 12-15 on the grounds they were the product of interrogation techniques that violated due process rights, or because they “were otherwise obtained in violation of Defendant’s Fifth and Sixth Amendment protections contained in the Federal Constitution and similar protections contained in the Constitution of the State of Maine.”
The Fifth Amendment protects a person from being compelled to be a witness against himself or herself in a criminal case. The Sixth Amendment allows an accused person the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury.
One motion cites 10 instances, including the initial 911 call on Jan. 12, statements made to a Waldo County deputy, an interrogation with state police and a final interrogation on Jan. 15.
Assistant Attorney General Leane Zainea, who is prosecuting the case, said it is the policy of the attorney general’s office not to comment on pending cases.
On Wednesday, Shaw filed a motion on behalf of Hopkins to have a polygraph examination introduced as evidence that her client did not commit the crime. According to the filing, Hopkins willingly submitted to the examination and stated she did not inflict the injuries on her son. The polygraph results, Shaw argued, indicated there was more than a 99 percent certainty that Hopkins was telling the truth.
Hopkins called 911 in January from her trailer home in Troy, saying her infant son was unresponsive. The infant was pronounced dead at the scene. The cause of the baby’s death is listed as blunt force trauma that included cuts and bruises on the head and skull, rib fractures, and bleeding on the surface of the brain.
Hopkins originally was charged with knowing or depraved indifference murder, punishable by 25 years to life in prison. She was indicted by a Waldo County grand jury in February on a lesser charge of manslaughter.
Hopkins allegedly told authorities she woke up and found her baby cold, white and “beat to hell.” The infant was pronounced dead at the scene. Hopkins lived with Jaxson and two other sons, ages 6 and 8, who both have autism, she told police. She told authorities it was possible the older boy crawled into bed and crushed or suffocated the baby.
Hopkins allegedly also told police she must have “blacked out” and was “so drunk that she did not remember,” saying she had drunk whiskey and ingested the antihistamine drug Benadryl, according to a police affidavit filed with the court. She was arrested Jan. 13, the day after her son died. She contended in court documents one or both of her other sons might have killed their infant brother, possibly by crushing the child while rolling over in bed.
Colin Ellis — 861-9253
cellis@centralmaine.com
Twitter: @colinoellis
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