Murder Hearing To Resume

Murder Hearing to resume

By AMY SMITH

NEWS STAFF REPORTER

A detention hearing for two teenage suspects in the gun slaying of a 13-year-old girl was expected to resume this morning with Juvenile Judge Judith Wood allowing news reporters into a courtroom seldom open to the press.

Because of the seriousness of the alleged offense, the judge said the public would he better served by knowing the facts of the case, but she requested that the names of the 16-year-old youths remain unpublished because of their ages.

Washtenaw County Sheriff's investigators also have been cautious about speaking publicly on motives or circumstances surrounding the slaying of Anne Hulbert, of Canton Township. Her body was found Jan. 7 in northeast Washtenaw County.

Numerous sources have confirmed that the girl feared she was
pregnant and that the shooting death stemmed from a relationship between the two boys and the girl.

If Wood rules today to continue detaining the youths under $500,000 bonds, Washtenaw County Prosecutor William F. Delhey win petiition the court to have the suspects tried in adult court. That hearing will consist of two parts - a preliminary examination in which additional evidence will be introduced and a psychological hearing which will likely be closed to reporters.

The detention hearing was cut short last Thursday after an attorney for one of the youth’s argued that police had violated the Juvenile Code in their handling of the case.

At today's hearing, defense attorneys for the boys are expected to challenge the legality of how investigators obtained their taped confessions, reportedly after several hours of police interviews at the Sheriff's Department.

The legal question - were the youths free to leave at any time during the interviews - is expected to be asked of investigators by defense attorneys at today’s hearing.

Sources have told The News that the youths were in custody at the Sheriff’s Department for several hours until a confession was obtained. If so, Wood will have to rule on whether investigators violated the strict guidelines of the Juvenile Code by not taking the teens forthwith to the county’s Juvenile Detention Center.

Commander Carl Rinna of the Sheriff’s Department has said that the youths agreed to come to the department for questioning as routine witnesses,” because the pair had been seen with the victim on Dec. 30, the same day she disappeared. 

At what point the juveniles went from “routine witnesses” to murder suspects remains to be determined.