Hunter Locke Hughes’ interview with Clinton Township police detectives was released Wednesday in Macomb County Circuit Court in Locke Hughes’ murder trial in the drowning death of 6-year-old Terry Adams. Thomas Hill will be on the stand, and Locke-Hughes’ attorney, Dan Garon, and Locke-Hughes will be in the defense seat. Jameson Cooke — MACOMB DAILY
The attorney for a young man accused of drowning his girlfriend’s 6-year-old boy in a bathtub disputed the Macomb County coroner’s opinion that the manner of death was “indeterminate” at his client’s trial.
The jury trial of Hunter Lockhughes, 21, entered its fifth day Wednesday before Kathryn Viviano in Macomb County Circuit Court, where pathologist Dr. Mary Pietrangelo was cross-examined by defense attorney Dan Gallon. I returned to the witness stand to take the stand. His client, Locke Hughes, is charged with felony murder and child abuse for allegedly putting Terrence “Terry” Adams under water in a bathtub at his Clinton Township apartment in December 2021. ing.
Mr. Garon questioned Mr. Pietrangelo during Tuesday’s testimony, saying the evidence showed both an “accident” and “homicide” depending on “how you interpret the information…if one mode of death is less convincing than the other.” He stated that he was expressing his opinion.
“One of the modes of death is when information is interpreted one way, and when there is uncertainty, the same information is interpreted another way,” she testified Wednesday.
Ms. Pietrangelo pointed out that her opinion was not a legal verdict and agreed that she did not know for sure what happened.
Garon claims that Terry drowned by aspirating his own vomit. He noted that when Ms Locke-Hughes arrived at the apartment, Ms Terry was clearly so upset that her mother, Ashlyn Bethel, had left moments earlier that she had almost vomited. . Terry was disabled, he was non-verbal and had other limitations.
After Mr. Garon mentioned the deaths of former rock stars Jimi Hendrix and John Bonham, Mr. Pietrangelo agreed that drowning from vomit was a “fairly common” way of death.
However, she maintained that he drowned in the water in the bathtub and that traces of potential vomit found in his lungs were probably expelled during the drowning process.
Garon suggested to Pietrangelo that the death was an accidental drowning.
“It is possible for a person to drown without being forcibly restrained in the water,” Pietrangelo said.
“That’s right,” Garon answered.
Pietrangelo disagreed with Gallon’s opinion that some of the black substance found in the bathtub was a combination of vomit and feces.
“It looks like feces to me,” she said.
She said defecation can occur as part of the drowning process. Additional fecal matter was found on the bathroom floor and rug.
The Michigan State Police Laboratory does not conduct such tests, so the contents of the material could not be confirmed, according to the township police department.Thomas Hill testifies
Garon also questioned Pietrangelo’s testimony Tuesday that the more than 30 bruises found on Terry’s body, mostly on her head and mouth, were “fresh” and occurred at about the same time.
Pietrangelo didn’t give an exact date, saying only that fresh meant “recently” and “not fresh” meant “some time ago.”
“It’s dangerous to actually age birthmarks,” she said. But she said, “You can look at a bruise or hematoma and tell if it’s fresh or not fresh.”
The wounds were shown to the jury in 23 autopsy photos presented Tuesday.
Pietrangelo noted that there was fresh blood in some of the bruises, which appeared to be open wounds. He said blood contains red and white blood cells, including a type of white blood cell that starts the healing process within 60 seconds of a wound being created.
Garon also noted that Terry has a history of self-harm, particularly hitting his head occasionally with an iPad, and that his rare condition CHARGE syndrome makes it difficult for him to walk due to balance issues.
When jurors asked if Terry’s head injury could have been “self-inflicted,” Piertangelo said, “That’s true.”
Also on Wednesday, the Hill and Clinton Township incident occurred within hours of the incident at the Fern Hill Manor Condominiums on Clinton River Road on Dec. 28, 2021, at approximately 6:30 p.m. A video and audio recording interview of Lock Hughes with another detective was also conducted.
Locke-Hughes arrived around 6 p.m. to babysit Terry and her almost 2-year-old sister, as Bethel was scheduled to go to work.
Ms Lock-Hughes said both children were “hysterical” and Terry was “very hysterical” and vomited on himself. Her bathtub was filling with water, so she allegedly removed Terry’s clothes to give her a bath.
When Terry was placed in the water, he vomited again, so Lockhughes said he removed Terry and took him into the living room to dry him.
Locke-Hughes said she then called Bethel and spoke for six minutes from her bedroom while Terry remained in the living room. He said he hadn’t seen Terry, and after the call, he “heard (Terry’s sister) screaming” in her bathroom and found her underwater, facing her side in her bathtub. That’s what it means.
He said he took Terry away, took her to a bedroom, called Bethel, and instructed her to call 911. During that call, he said, he performed CPR until paramedics arrived and took over.
Terry was later pronounced dead at Henry Ford Macomb Hospital.
During questioning, detectives suggested that Locke-Hughes, 19 years old in particular, may have been tired and frustrated from having to help care for Terry and her sister after they moved in a few months ago. did. The couple had been dating for about nine months.
Regarding the arrangement, Hill told Lock Hughes, “It’s a huge responsibility for a 19-year-old guy.”
Locke-Hughes said that when she was under too much stress at home, “I would go into another room to breathe, calm myself down, and come back with a smile on my face.”
Lock-Hughes admitted that when Terry was upset that day, “I was a bit annoyed at that point, but I didn’t show it to Terry.”
When Mr Hill suggested Ms Locke-Hughes might be sleep-deprived, she agreed, saying “a little bit” because of the couple’s schedules that she was only getting four to five hours a night.
Locke-Hughes said he worked as a plumber six days a week, sometimes 10 or 12 hours a day, and Bethell worked nights as an assistant manager at Domino’s Pizza. Locke-Hughes’ grandmother was her boss.
Locke-Hughes said Bethel usually takes a nap between midnight and 1 a.m. before coming home so she can socialize.he started his work at 7am
He said that when he first started dating Bethel, Terry was worried about him after Bethel and Terry’s father broke up. But after a while, he said, they became good friends.
“We were close,” he said, adding that the two would bump fists and sleep together while watching TV.
Terry “loved bath time,” he said.
“That’s his favorite part of the day,” he said.