OGDEN -- An overwhelmed mother, frustrated over caring for twins, said she killed the one she loved least to make life easier, according to testimony Wednesday in 2nd District Court.
"She told me she knew that Robert would suffocate," Ogden Detective Brian Eynon said in detailing Jewell Hendricks' confession at her preliminary hearing.
The 26-year-old said she first squeezed the fussy, crying child to her chest, breaking his clavicle, Eynon said. Finding the infant still breathing, Eynon testified, Hendricks told him she then placed him in a sleeping bag with her on a couch, setting him at her hip and wedging him against the back of the couch.
"She then fell asleep for 21âÑ2 hours," Eynon said.
Hendricks is charged with murder in the Jan. 24 death of 2-month-old Robert. She also is charged with child abuse for bruising found on Robert's twin brother, Daniel, the day of the killing in the home she shared with her husband and the siblings in the 400 block of Ogden's 27th Street.
Hendricks' husband, Phil, was apparently asleep when events unfolded, according to police.
Eynon said she voluntarily sat for the interview after waiving, even reciting from memory, her Miranda rights.
Eynon said Hendricks first said she was trying to silence the crying child so her husband could sleep. Later in the interview, Hendricks said having twins was too much for her.
"She said if she only had one child, it would make her life better," Eynon said. "And she loved Daniel more than she loved Robert."
Eynon said she used the word "intent" in saying life would be better if she killed Robert. He said Hendricks was alternately calm or crying during interrogation, but never was confused.
Ryan Bushell, public defender for Hendricks, said after the hearing he would be looking at defense motions including consideration of the fact Hendricks and her husband were both special education students in high school.
In closing arguments, rare for a defense attorney at a preliminary hearing, Bushell asked the judge to reduce the charges to child abuse or neglect, as the only evidence of the child being smothered was Hendricks' own testimony, which he said will be scrutinized.
He also noted that a deputy medical examiner's testimony found no evidence the child was smothered. Dr. Pamela Ulmer also agreed the child's two skull fractures could have come from falls any child is prone to, Bushell said.
"Your honor, what we have here is a distraught mother who just lost a child and thought it was her fault as she was trying to quiet the child," Bushell argued. "What she didn't know was that Robert's head was already busted up."
After finding enough evidence existed to advance Hendricks to trial, Judge Michael DiReda set a status conference for July 29.
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