CALEB JACOB HICKEY -Premature Newborn (3/2011)- Centralia WA

Centralia woman arrested in newborn's decapitation


CENTRALIA, Wash. -- A 25-year-old woman has been arrested for investigation of first-degree murder in the death of her baby boy born prematurely and found decapitated, Centralia police say.
Laura Lynn Hickey was arrested Wednesday after a week-long investigation, which included a post-mortem examination of the baby by a forensic pathologist.
The pathologist concluded the 21-week baby was alive at birth, but "suffered fatal injuries by decapitation," Officer John Panco said Wednesday night.
Police said the body was found March 2 under the kitchen sink in Hickey's trailer home.
Hickey was scheduled to appear Thursday afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court. Panco said he expected she would be formally charged with first-degree murder.
The Lewis County prosecutor's office joined Centralia police in a statement announcing the arrest.
Panco said he did not know whether Hickey was represented by a lawyer.
Paramedics responded to the woman's home just before 1 a.m. on March 2 after neighbors heard her call for help, the statement said. Taken to Centralia Providence Hospital, the woman reportedly told doctors she was having a miscarriage but police said an exam showed she had given birth. Police said the woman then told emergency room staff that the baby was under her kitchen sink.
Officers found the decapitated body.
Panco said he can't say whether the baby would have survived, but he was alive at the time of birth.
The woman has three other children but they do not live with her, Panco said, adding Child Protective Services removed them from her care about a year ago.
Police have located the baby's father, but Hickey was alone when she gave birth, the officer said.
"Our investigations have determined she is the only one involved," Panco said. In police interviews, "there hasn't been any solid reason from her why this happened."
Hickey said she had picked out baby names and had chosen "Caleb Jacob Hickey" for a boy, Panco said.
Asked about the week-long delay until the arrest, the officer said, "We had to have the pathologist determine whether the baby was alive at birth or not. That's a big part of what we can charge."
Centralia is about 70 miles south of Seattle.

http://www.krem.com/news/local/117779763.html

http://www.lewiscountysirens.com/?p=6678

Centralia woman charged with killing her baby found competent for trial

Friday, June 3, 2011 at 5:09 pm

CHEHALIS – A judge found yesterday the 25-year-old Centralia woman accused of decapitating her premature newborn is competent for further proceedings in the case.


Laura Lynn Hickey

Laura Lynn Hickey was arrested in early March after police found the deceased baby in a Tupperware container under the kitchen sink of her trailer home.

Prosecutors allege Hickey – who was about halfway through her pregnancy – used a serrated knife to cut off the infant’s head as it was trying to take a breath after she unexpectedly delivered it into a toilet.

She said she didn’t think it was going to live and she didn’t want it to suffer, according to charging documents.

Hickey pleaded not guilty yesterday to first-degree murder.

She has been jailed since March 9, the arraignment put on hold while she underwent psychological evaluations at Western State Hospital.

Doctors were asked to look into issues of competency, insanity and diminished capacity.

Lewis County Superior Court Judge Nelson Hunt’s finding yesterday of competency is related to her ability to understand the proceedings and assist in her own defense.

His decision made it possible to move forward, with yesterday’s arraignment and the scheduling of a trial for next February.

Hickey lived in a fifth-wheel trailer at the Peppertree Motor Inn and RV Park in Centralia and has no income or assets, according to the attorney who represented her for her first court appearance.

She reportedly told police she used methamphetamine two days before the incident and had been awake since then. The state had previously taken three of her children out of her home.

Charging documents indicate an emergency room doctor estimated Hickey was about 21 weeks along in her pregnancy when he examined her after what she initially said was a miscarriage.

Her court-appointed lawyer, Kenneth Johnson, has said whether a fetus at that stage of development can survive outside its mother’s womb is an issue that will come up in this case.

Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer contends the autopsy indicated the fetus was born alive and was viable.

Hickey remains in the Lewis County Jail, held on $1 million bail.

http://www.lewiscountysirens.com/?p=10855

Laura Hickey pleads guilty to killing her premature infant

Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 7:42 pm

CHEHALIS – There won’t be a trial for Laura Lynn Hickey, accused of killing her premature newborn in her Centralia trailer home last spring. She pleaded guilty today.


Laura Lynn Hickey

Hickey, now 25, was about halfway through her pregnancy, according to prosecutors who said she used a serrated knife to cut off the infant’s head as it was trying to take a breath after she unexpectedly delivered it into a toilet.

She said she didn’t think it was going to live and she didn’t want it to suffer, according to charging documents.

Hickey has been jailed since March.

She pleaded guilty this afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court to second-degree murder.

Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer said, yes and no as to whether it was a plea agreement.

“I agreed to amend the charges down, (but) I reserved recommendation about the sentence,” Meyer said.

Defense attorney Ken Johnson said his client’s reasoning was, it seemed to be the appropriate thing to do under the circumstances.

“I guess my thinking is, this would have been a likely outcome if we went to trial,” Johnson said.

Her trial was set for the end of this month.

Charging documents indicate an emergency room doctor estimated Hickey was about 21 weeks along in her pregnancy when he examined her after what she initially said was a miscarriage.

The infant weighed less than a pound and was less than 10-inches long, according to Meyer who shared the numbers in grams and centimeters.

Attorney Johnson had an expert who would have testified the premature baby would not likely have survived.

Prosecutors initially charged Hickey with first-degree murder, but the agreement the lawyers reached left her pleading guilty to second-degree murder with an aggravating factor of the victim being being particularly vulnerable.

That means a judge will be able to – if he chooses – go above the standard sentence called for in second-degree murder.

The plea also included a deadly weapon enhancement, providing for a mandatory extra two years in prison.

The maximum possible penalty is life behind bars.

Meyer said this afternoon he has not decided how much time he will recommend Hickey spend in prison.

He called it a case where justice will be served, as both murder one and murder two are class A felonies and he’s free to recommend any length of sentence he wants.

Johnson said he will ask for as low a sentence possible given the circumstances.

Although his client was found competent by state mental health doctors to stand trial, another expert would have testified her mental state was substantially diminished, for a number of reasons, according to Johnson.

“In other words, she could not think very clearly,” Johnson said. “It was a horrendous situation, she was in shock,” he said. “She passed out at one point, losing blood. It was a nightmare”

“She feels very bad about what happened,” he said. “She made that very clear on the record today,” he said.

It was early on the morning of March 2; neighbors had called 911 after hearing calls for help coming from Hickey’s home at the Peppertree Motor Inn and RV Park on Alder Street, she was taken to the hospital and then police found the deceased male baby in a Tupperware container under the kitchen sink.

She reportedly told police she used methamphetamine two days before the incident and had been awake since then. The state had previously taken three of her children out of her home.

Hickey’s step-father puts the blame directly on her drug use.

“The girl was not in her right mind, drugs took over her life,” Donald Burgess Sr. said. “It’s a bad thing that happened here. It’s torn the family apart.”

Burgess said he’s spoken to his daughter as she’s contemplated a plea agreement. He wasn’t present in court today, but spoke to her later in the day.

She called me crying, he said.

“I told her, just pray to God, and what God thinks you deserve, that’s what you’ll get.”

Sentencing is scheduled for the morning on Feb. 22.