The CAMPO Triplets (2009) - Plaistow (SE of Manchester) NH

Plaistow NH ---- A Plaistow father accused
of beating and breaking the bones of his three infant children had one
of his statements to police tossed out as evidence following a brief
hearing yesterday. Thomas Campo, 44, is facing 17 counts of
first-degree assault and 20 counts of second-degree assault in
Rockingham County Superior Court for abusing his three children.He
was arrested Sept. 12, and is scheduled to be on trial later this year.
Yesterday, lawyers involved in the case met briefly behind
closed doors with Judge Tina Nadeau regarding statements Campo made to
an officer while being booked at the Plaistow police station. Defense
lawyer Adam Bernstein successfully argued that one of two statements
his client made to police had to be thrown out because it violated his
rights. Campo responded to a question by a police officer, saying
his wife, Zoya, would never harm their children, court papers say. But
Campo had refused to waive his Miranda rights and speak to police,
according to his lawyer.Prosecutors have not objected to that
statement being tossed out, but maintain a second statement should be
allowed. Campo allegedly told a police officer, "I did a horrible
thing," according to court papers filed by Assistant County Attorney
Jerome Blanchard.He argued that statement was a spontaneous
utterance, not an answer to a question by police. Nadeau also
agreed yesterday to appoint a lawyer to Campo's wife, Zoya. That
came after Berstein questioned whether she might assert her right to not
incriminate herself if she testifies at trial. Zoya Campo may
have known her husband was hurting their children, but took no action,
according to court documents filed by Bernstein. The defense asked for a
hearing about the issue.But Blanchard argued the issue was
premature at this point and suggested appointing a lawyer for Zoya Campo
to determine whether she has any right to assert her Fifth Amendment
privilege €" the right not to incriminate oneself. Zoya Campo has
not been charged in connection with the case. The abuse began
from the time that the triplets were born April 6 until Campo's arrest
in September, court documents say. The couple had two boys and a girl.Campo
is accused of breaking approximately 10 ribs of one of his sons and
fracturing the skull of another, according to indictments and a police
affidavit.Police first learned of the abuse on Sept. 12 when Zoya
Campo went to Lawrence General Hospital to have one of her sons
examined for an unrelated medical concern, a police affidavit says.

The wife of a Plaistow father accused
of breaking the bones of their three children has agreed to testify if
called by prosecutors, a judge said during a brief hearing yesterday.Lawyers
were scheduled to argue whether Zoya Campo had a right not to testify
at her husband's upcoming first-degree assault trial.


CAMPO

Instead, Judge Tina Nadeau said yesterday after a conference with lawyers
involved in the case that Zoya Campo has agreed not to invoke any
marital privilege if called to testify by prosecutors. Zoya Campo
was given a court-appointed lawyer to determine whether she could
incriminate herself by divulging whether she knew anything about her
children allegedly being abused by her husband, Thomas, according to
court papers. Thomas Campo, 44, formerly of Plaistow, is accused
of breaking some bones of his triplets -- two boys and a girl -- shortly
after their birth April 6, 2009. He is facing more than 20 counts of second-degree assault
and 17 counts of first-degree assault.