PORT ANGELES — A court hearing to determine whether a teenager’s statements to police about the death of her baby can be used against her was moved to Thursday.
Lauryn Last, now 18, gave self-incriminating statements that led to a second-degree murder charge in the Dec. 31, 2008, death of her full-term infant.
The hearings are a result of a motion filed by her attorneys to exclude those statements because the then-16-year-old didn’t understand what waiving her rights meant, according to court documents.
Originally scheduled for October, testimony in the issue has been taken at hearings throughout November and December.
The last portion was scheduled for Monday but was reset for Thursday instead. The reason for the latest delay was not listed in court documents.
Although a transcript of Last’s interview and statements is not in court documents, police statements are.
“Lauryn Last put her baby face-down into a toilet and allowed it to drown for several minutes until it died,” according to the statement of Port Angeles Police Officer Jesse Winfield contained in court files.
“She then threw her son into the trash can outside in a plastic garbage bag.”
Last was charged as an adult Jan. 2, 2009, with first-degree murder, a charge later reduced to second-degree murder.
The maximum sentence for the second-degree murder charge is 18 years and four months.
Last’s child was fathered by her mother’s then-37-year-old boyfriend, who is now serving time in Colorado for sexual assault of Last as a child.
Thursday should be the last day of testimony, according to the court schedule, but a ruling isn’t expected until later
A trial date has not yet been set pending Clallam County Superior Court Judge Ken Williams’ ruling on Last’s statements to police.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com
