A lawyer for the 15-year-old boy accused of shooting his father to death will ask a judge today to toss out of evidence the boy's statement to police after he was arrested.
Pensacola attorney Barry Beroset will argue that Warren Williams' statement should be suppressed because he was not old enough, mature enough or mentally stable enough to voluntarily waive his rights to remain silent and to speak with an attorney.
Williams is charged with first-degree murder in the March 11 shooting of William Williams, 55, in their home in the Gaberonne neighborhood off Scenic Highway. He was 14 at the time.
In his statement, Williams admitted to firing several shots at his father. He told investigators he was sick of his life, but he did not provide an explanation for the killing.
Williams, who is expected to offer an insanity defense, is scheduled for trial in April. However, Assistant State Attorney Bridgette Jensen said the trial could be delayed because of various mental-health examinations of the boy.
Circuit Judge Joel Boles is expected to consider several issues at today's hearing:
n A motion filed by Beroset said a Pensacola police investigator "quickly read" Williams his Miranda rights before obtaining the statement, and the boy signed a waiver of those rights.
"Even though defendant was advised of Miranda rights, defendant was only 14 years old, less than 5 feet tall, and approximately 80 pounds, yet no one asked defendant if he wanted to speak with a lawyer or with a parent before questioning began," the motion states.
The motion also reveals the new information that Williams told investigators that his older brother, Sawyer, who committed suicide in 2002 when he was 12, had told him of his plan two days before killing himself.
Williams told the investigator that he did not do anything to stop his brother. He said he'd seen counselors for mental issues after that.
Beroset's motion says the child "blamed himself when he was 7 years of age for not telling his parents that his 12-year-old brother intended to commit suicide."
http://www.pnj.com/article/20110304/...ent-tossed-out
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