Police interview stalled first murder trial / LJWorld.com

Archive for Friday, October 6, 2006

Case against dad charged in death moves forward again

October 6, 2006

Jay D. Decker, 27, faces a Nov. 13 trial on charges of killing his infant daughter, Risha Lafferty, a year ago at Edgewood Homes in East Lawrence. A mistrial was declared on the last day of his original trial this summer because of a police interview that hadn't been sent to prosecutors.

His first murder trial was called off on the last day of testimony after a police interview that had never been sent to prosecutors surfaced.

Now, preparations are under way for a Lawrence man to stand trial a second time in the child-abuse death of his infant daughter.

Jay D. Decker, 27, made a brief appearance Thursday in District Court in preparation for his Nov. 13 trial. Decker is charged with killing his 5-month-old daughter, Risha J. Lafferty, in October 2005 at Edgewood Homes, 1600 Haskell Ave.

On the last day of his trial this summer, attorneys said "new evidence" had surfaced, and Judge Paula Martin declared a mistrial at the defense's request. What the evidence was has not yet been explained publicly.

But sources familiar with the issue have confirmed it was an interview conducted by the Lawrence Police Department's detective division with a family acquaintance in Miami County. The witness said the girl's mother, Brandi Hendrickson, had been physically abusive with the child in the past.

For an unknown reason, that police interview was not forwarded to Dist. Atty. Charles Branson's office, and neither prosecutors nor defense attorneys knew about it until the day the trial was canceled.

Defense attorneys - who tried during the first trial to implicate Hendrickson in the baby's death - viewed the interview as significant enough to request a mistrial.

Decker's defense attorneys, Tom Bartee and Mark Manna, and Branson have said they cannot comment on the case beyond what is said in court. Lawrence Police Sgt. Dan Ward said he couldn't comment because of departmental policies, which prohibit discussion of pending criminal cases.

On Thursday in court, Bartee mentioned a "new witness" the defense planned to call and said she had been interviewed three times by police: once shortly after the death, and twice recently.

Discussion

LJWorld.com doesn't necessarily condone the comments here, nor does it review every post.
Read our full policy. Also, read about banned accounts and harassing comments.

6 October 2006
at 7:22 a.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

Bone777 (Anonymous) says…

Someone needs to use JD Decker and Brandi Hendrickson in a real life remake of the movie “Saw”.
6 October 2006
at 8:36 a.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

acg (Anonymous) says…

Hear, hear, bone!
6 October 2006
at 9:50 a.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

Confrontation (Anonymous) says…

Bone- I'd actually like to use the needle scene from Saw II.
6 October 2006
at 10:04 a.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

armyguy (Anonymous) says…

I am not a lawyer however I think that the state has a duty to release all of the evidence to the defense, not just what they want too. The police know this as well, I smell something here.
6 October 2006
at 11:12 a.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

acg (Anonymous) says…

You're correct armyguy. It's called disclosure and they have a legal obligation to do so.
6 October 2006
at 2:20 p.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

daman (Anonymous) says…

Can't disclose what you don't have and what you don't know about. The “duty” to disclose is on the prosecution and contrary to what some defense lawyers think, cops are not prosecutors.
13 November 2006
at 7:07 p.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

lizzyp13 (Anonymous) says…

A mistake was still made.