Murder Case Documents To Be Filed

Murder case documents to be filed

By AMY SMITH

NEWS STAFF REPORTER

Petitions to have two 16-year-old boys tried as adults for the slaying of a Canton Township girl are expected to be filed today with the Washtenaw County Juvenile Court, county Prosecutor William F Delhey said this morning.

A hearing on that issue will be combined with a detention hearing for both teen-agers before Juvenile Court Judge Judith Wood on Feb. 2.

Wood adjourned Tuesday’s detention hearing after defense lawyers combined with the probable cause hearing - the first phase of what is usually a two-part waiver hearing.

The motion for the combined hearing of both boys was made by Assistant Public Defender Ruth Ducmanis and attorney Edward J. Schwartz.

Although the defense requested the combined hearings, Delhey said the court’s time and the witnesses time would be saved by combining the two. 

Assistant Prosecutor Elizabeth Pollard, who is handling the case, said she intends to call at least six witnesses.  The probable cause portion of the waiver hearing will include evidence intended to prove that a crime was committed and that there is sufficient evidence to justify bringing the youths to trial.

The two teen-agers, who live in Ypsilanti Township, are suspects in the fatal shooting of Mary Anne Hulbert, 13, whose body was found Jan. 7 in a rural area of Superior Township.

Wood also granted a defense motion Tuesday for a yet-to-be-scheduled "Walker hearing" to determine the admissibility of statements made to investigators by the boys or their legal guardians during extensive interviews on Jan. 7.

Defense attorneys are expected to argue that the investigators violated guidelines of the juvenile code when they questioned and obtained statements from the teens.

Over defense objections, Wood allowed news reporters into the courtroom Tuesday on the condition that the boys' names not be published.

In the meantime, she ordered that detention and the $500,000 bond for each youth be continued.

Washtenaw County sheriff's investigators remain tight-lipped about the case and refuse to speak publicly on possible motives for the killing.