Father Faces Charges for Trying to Save Baby
March 21st, 2006 @ 9:59pm
Amanda Butterfield Reporting

"Here's a man who steps up to defend a child, the child is killed, and the state has the gall to charge him with a crime."

A father tried to get his baby out of a meth house, but a judge ordered him to give her back. Ten days later she died from ingesting meth.


The baby's mother was charged with child endangerment and desecration of a body. The father faces charges of assault and burglary for trying to get the baby out of harm's way. However, his lawyers and the mother say he's not guilty.

That father, Cole Morrow, lives in Nevada. He's hoping the judge will drop the charges. And with evidence his lawyer showed us today, they can't believe this is a case.

Cole Morrow, Father: "I'm not criminal, I was just protecting my daughter."

Estella Lacey should be eight months old today. Her father, Cole Morrow is sure she would be if he had been allowed to keep her.

Cole Morrow: "Oh most definitely, definitely."



She died December 28th. But let's go back ten days before that, when Morrow and his mother came here to check on Estella. His mother went in first, that's when Morrow's lawyers say Raymond Chesley, the boyfriend of the baby's mother Mary Lacey, attacked her.

Gregory Hawkins, Hawkins & Sorensen: "Our client got out of the car, went to protect his mother, and took the baby because it's his child."

That's why Morrow is being charged with burglary and assault. The same day Morrow did take the baby, but a judge ordered him to return her, and he did. Ten days later, Estella ingested a bag of meth and died.

Here's what Morrow's lawyers can't believe. They have a signed document from Mary Lacey, that Morrow did not enter the home to do harm and Morrow did not assault Chesley...

Gregory Hawkins, Father: "Not only did she sign it, but the court, Judge Barrett actually found those facts to be true and put it in an order."


Reporter: "So let me ask you this why is he still being charged?"

Gregory Hawkins: "Why don't you ask everybody in the world that because it's ridiculous the county prosecutor would proceed in a case like this."

We asked the District Attorney's office that; we were told the prosecutor working on the case is out of town. We were faxed the probable cause statement, showing the detective's findings on the day Morrow went to the house, stating he entered it unlawfully and assaulted Chesley.

Hawkins says he's ready for a trial.

Gregory Hawkins: "But if it goes to trial, we're going all the way, to make public, this man did the right thing, and shouldn't be charged."

Hawkins, Morrows lawyer, says they made the D.A.'s office aware of these documents where Lacey signed that Morrow is not guilty, and a judge agreed. Still, Morrow's preliminary hearing is set for next Tuesday.

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Summary:  Man takes baby away from his ex who happens to be running a meth house.  Judge orders father to return baby to mother at meth house.  Baby ingests meth (no surprise) and dies because father wasn't allowed to take her to safety.  Father is now facing obviously trumped up charges of assault and burglery for trying to save his baby.

What I can't understand is why the judge isn't being charged for terminal stupidity!

It's because of the judge and the meth addict mother that the baby is dead.

Edited to add link to story:
www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=179592

Wow. While I think the judge to be guilty of reckless endangerment, it is the mother and her boyfriend bear the ultimate responsibility.

Just another expample of males being discrimated against when it comes to custody issues.

The victim.

That judge needs a Lil Unintended Consequences action. They should find him in his car with a Snout full of meth, dead from a major Infarc.

Quoted: The victim. media.bonnint.net/slc/1/148/14887.jpg

Well...I didn't need to see that.  Sometimes I hate it when a face is placed with a story.

If you do harm to a child, there is no punishment severe enough!

That judge is an idiot.

Some days I read things like this and just don't know what to do with it, you know?

And DFS will work like NASA going to the moon to remove a child from a home where a parent spanked them in public, but a meth house.... to busy,  too many cases to care,  too hard to get the system to work.

Useless fucking sacks of crap.... The whole lot of 'family court', I say.  

Dad should have taken the baby and run.  You'd have to kill me first before I'd put her back in a drugged out bitches hands.  

Quoted: Just another expample of males being discrimated against when it comes to custody issues.

No, I wouldn't take it that far.

It is an example of a judge being an absolute f*cktard.

Quoted: Some days I read things like this and just don't know what to do with it, you know?

It is simple: Start voting for candidates who think that all this asshattery by judges needs to be stopped.

The reason they're prosecuting him is because Lord knows we can't blame the judge for making a bad decision.

Deflecting the blame, that's all this is.

Quoted: Quoted: Some days I read things like this and just don't know what to do with it, you know? It is simple: Start voting for candidates who think that all this asshattery by judges needs to be stopped.

If I'm not mistaken, most state judges are themselves elected officials.  

This is why I’m such a supporter of jury nullification. Any jury hearing this case shouldn’t have any trouble acquitting this man.

Maybe somebody should start taking donations to help pay his legal fees.

This shit is fucked up six ways from Sunday.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Some days I read things like this and just don't know what to do with it, you know? It is simple: Start voting for candidates who think that all this asshattery by judges needs to be stopped. If I'm not mistaken, most state judges are themselves elected officials.

I think you may be right about this state's judges.  If that's the case, this judge will find himself unemployed in the near future.

Quoted: The victim. media.bonnint.net/slc/1/148/14887.jpg

Oh, God..... I'm going to be sick.

                               

Judge needs charged with manslaughter for forceing the father to return the baby to a drug house. And to think, there are people standing outside a KFC somewhere protesting the killing of chickens, but not a god damn soul besides the father is doing anything about this girls death. If I where being charged for something, id damn well make sure those who where responsible for my daughters death where no longer breathing.

Quoted: If you do harm to a child, there is no punishment severe enough!That judge is an idiot.

  Sure there is, Me................................

Well get it to Bill O'Riley & some of the other media outlets. That judge who sentenced the child rapist to 90 days sure got an ass full citizen butt kicking.

Judge's have immunity , huh.

Time to report him to the State Bar, let their Board of Ethics yank his license to practice law for incompetency.

Time for the good folks of the community to buy a giant billboard with his face, name and address and giant red letters underneath that say "BABY KILLER".....1st amendment rights are a bitch sometimes.

The mother and boyfriend should both be charged with murder, given that the baby's death is directly tied to the commission of a crime (meth).  My bet is they aren't because they are "victims" too.

Quoted: Well get it to Bill O'Riley & some of the other media outlets. That judge who sentenced the child rapist to 90 days sure got an ass full citizen butt kicking.

Not a bad idea.

Edited to add:  Done.

Quoted: A father tried to get his baby out of a meth house, but a judge ordered him to give her back. Ten days later she died from ingesting meth. She died December 28th. But let's go back ten days before that, when Morrow and his mother came here to check on Estella. {Where is "here"!?} His mother went in first, that's when Morrow's lawyers say Raymond Chesley, the boyfriend of the baby's mother Mary Lacey, attacked her. Gregory Hawkins, Hawkins & Sorensen: "Our client got out of the car, went to protect his mother , and took the baby because it's his child." {He was protecting HIS mother!???? WTF!? Does anybody understand what the fuck happened here - other than a baby was negligently killed???? That's why Morrow is being charged with burglary and assault. The same day Morrow did take the baby, but a judge ordered him to return her, and he did. Ten days later, Estella ingested a bag of meth and died.

So let me see if I got this right -

1) Guy has sex with a woman (not his wife) and probably KNEW she was a druggie at the time.
2) Less than 18 months later the woman is hooked up with another man (again not married).
3) Baby is now with the "mommy" and her fuck-du-jour abusive "boyfriend" and both are tweakers.
4) "Daddy" tries to get baby from "mommy" and abusive "boyfriend" who wants to keep the baby in her meth-house.

Shit

This baby never had a chance.

Quoted: Quoted: A father tried to get his baby out of a meth house, but a judge ordered him to give her back. Ten days later she died from ingesting meth. She died December 28th. But let's go back ten days before that, when Morrow and his mother came here to check on Estella. {Where is "here"!?} His mother went in first, that's when Morrow's lawyers say Raymond Chesley, the boyfriend of the baby's mother Mary Lacey, attacked her. Gregory Hawkins, Hawkins & Sorensen: "Our client got out of the car, went to protect his mother , and took the baby because it's his child." {He was protecting HIS mother!???? WTF!? Does anybody understand what the fuck happened here - other than a baby was negligently killed???? That's why Morrow is being charged with burglary and assault. The same day Morrow did take the baby, but a judge ordered him to return her, and he did. Ten days later, Estella ingested a bag of meth and died. So let me see if I got this right - 1) Guy has sex with a woman (not his wife) and probably KNEW she was a druggie at the time. 2) Less than 18 months later the woman is hooked up with another man (again not married). 3) Baby is now with the "mommy" and her fuck-du-jour abusive "boyfriend" and both are tweakers. 4) "Daddy" tries to get baby from "mommy" and abusive "boyfriend" who wants to keep the baby in her meth-house. Shit This baby never had a chance.

If social services had even taken the child pending a review of the situation, the baby would have had a chance.  I can't believe a judge ordered the child returned to an obviously dangerous home.

I am speechless.......

Quoted: Quoted: Just another expample of males being discrimated against when it comes to custody issues. No, I wouldn't take it that far.

I would. Happens 10,000 times a day in this country.

Quoted: Quoted: A father tried to get his baby out of a meth house, but a judge ordered him to give her back. Ten days later she died from ingesting meth. She died December 28th. But let's go back ten days before that, when Morrow and his mother came here to check on Estella. {Where is "here"!?} His mother went in first, that's when Morrow's lawyers say Raymond Chesley, the boyfriend of the baby's mother Mary Lacey, attacked her. Gregory Hawkins, Hawkins & Sorensen: "Our client got out of the car, went to protect his mother , and took the baby because it's his child." {He was protecting HIS mother!???? WTF!? Does anybody understand what the fuck happened here - other than a baby was negligently killed???? That's why Morrow is being charged with burglary and assault. The same day Morrow did take the baby, but a judge ordered him to return her, and he did. Ten days later, Estella ingested a bag of meth and died. So let me see if I got this right - 1) Guy has sex with a woman (not his wife) and probably KNEW she was a druggie at the time. 2) Less than 18 months later the woman is hooked up with another man (again not married). 3) Baby is now with the "mommy" and her fuck-du-jour abusive "boyfriend" and both are tweakers. 4) "Daddy" tries to get baby from "mommy" and abusive "boyfriend" who wants to keep the baby in her meth-house. Shit This baby never had a chance.

You are being awfully judgemental of a man you know almost nothing about who did his best to get his daughter out of the situation she was in. For what it's worth she doesn't look very down the meth road yet. She looks fairly normal in her photo on the news site, as does her boyfriend, aside from the fact that they are both fucking stupid. You don't know if she was a druggie when they met. You don't know the involvement that the father had in his daughter's life. It's a hell of a lot more than I can say for many men out there who could care less about the home their child is in.

I cannot believe this............. What a bunch of fucktards in power huh.

Quoted: Just another expample of males being discrimated against when it comes to custody issues.

agree

I would love to see this go to trial. Very public. Very high profile.

It's way past time for the judges, prosecutors and L.E. that make things like this possible to be held accountable. They need to be made to pay in full.   fullclip

Sounds like the judge messed up returning the baby, but if the mother had legal custody the only

other thing he could have done was place the baby with protective services pending a custody

hearing (which the father would have had to initiate). The man apparently failed to show (or prove)

that the home was dangerous, or intitiate the custody hearing (the legal way of going about this).

The judge did the legal thing of ordering the return of the baby to the legal custodian, the mother.

As far as the charges go, the article said he was goinginto a preliminary hearing, where the charges will likely be thrown out due to lack of merit. The prosecutor sounds like the real idiot here.

Quoted: Why not? If you don't think there's a bias toward women in family court, you just haven't been paying attention.

There is absolutely a bias toward women in family court.

Nevertheless, I don't think this instance can be directly attributed to that. I think in this instance we see a bias toward idiots because the judge happens to be afflicted with the same stupidity.

The judge was operating under some legal constraints, but I am sure that there was more the judge could do than throw up his/her hands.

Quoted: If I'm not mistaken, most state judges are themselves elected officials.

In some states, yes. In many, no.

If they are elected officials, the people ought to be moving to remove them.

Quoted: Well get it to Bill O'Riley & some of the other media outlets. That judge who sentenced the child rapist to 90 days sure got an ass full citizen butt kicking.

....And still has his job where he is free to be an a$$clown again.

That is still unacceptable.

The judge, who has been cited EIGHT times for DUI AND WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR KILLING SOMEONE WHILE DRIVING DRUNK ought to be LYNCHED.

Not just yelled at by Bill O'Reiley.

Quoted: I would. Happens 10,000 times a day in this country.

No, I don't believe 10,000 babies a day are put back into meth houses where they later die.....

I am not questioning the existence of a bias toward females in family court.

I am saying that this incident is not the result of that. It is the result of absolute stupidity.

If the father of the child comes to the judge and alleges conduct, the judge should have made at least SOME effort to investigate the claims of the father, which does not appear to have happened.

It appears to be a bias towards idiocy, not necessarily gender here.

Quoted: The prosecutor sounds like the real idiot here.

The prosecutor certainly isn't winning any prizes. The father's claims are demonstrated to be warranted now that his baby is dead, and removing a child from a dangerous and illegal situation ought to be commended rather than prosecuted.

Justice is denied every day in this country in one way or another. It's not always a baby dying in a meth house due to a judge's incompetance, but it is happening in other ways. How much longer can it go on?

Quoted: Quoted: I would. Happens 10,000 times a day in this country. No, I don't believe 10,000 babies a day are put back into meth houses where they later die..... I am not questioning the existence of a bias toward females in family court. I am saying that this incident is not the result of that. It is the result of absolute stupidity. If the father of the child comes to the judge and alleges conduct, the judge should have made at least SOME effort to investigate the claims of the father, which does not appear to have happened. It appears to be a bias towards idiocy, not necessarily gender here.

Well, I repsonded to your post which seems clear in it's intent:

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Just another expample of males being discrimated against when it comes to custody issues. No, I wouldn't take it that far. I would. Happens 10,000 times a day in this country.

Yes, this was the result of stupidity and of a system that shows little regard for decency and justice.  However, it is factual IMO that men are screwed wholesale by the current Justice System, especially family courts.  On more example of why the political system needs to be turned on its head in this country.

As Motown Steve asked, how long can it go on?

Quoted: Justice is denied every day in this country in one way or another. It's not always a baby dying in a meth house due to a judge's incompetance, but it is happening in other ways. How much longer can it go on?

It feels like the barbarians have breached the barricades and decency and common sense are in mortal peril.

Quoted: Put the judge and DA in the meth house with the mother, board up all the windows and doors and burn the place to the ground. Nothing to see here, folks. Just another "victimless crime".

If you need help give me a holler.

LB

Quoted: If you do harm to a child, there is no punishment severe enough! That judge is an idiot.

Indeed...

Too bad the idiots are fucking IMMUNE from prosecution    Pisses me off to no end.

Quoted: Quoted: Justice is denied every day in this country in one way or another. It's not always a baby dying in a meth house due to a judge's incompetance, but it is happening in other ways. How much longer can it go on? It feels like the barbarians have breached the barricades and decency and common sense are in mortal peril.

Good metaphor.

Tail wagging th dog and evreything is backasswards anymore. Thanks to "tolerance" we are all supposed to kiss the asses of the least common denominator.  Instead of expecting people to rise to a level of decency we are all supposed to lower ourselves to that of the lowest.  

No wonder the socialists targeted the family first and then shoved this PC, tolerance bullshit down our throats.  Necessary first step to destroying America.


They won't stop, ever, until we kick their ass.  

Update:

Charges against the father have been dropped.  Looks like the judge and prosecutor have egg on their faces.

www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=182297
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Father Won't Face Charges for Taking Baby From Suspected Meth House
March 28th, 2006 @ 7:20am
Gene Kennedy Reporting

A father who removed his daughter from a suspected meth house will not face charges after all. It's a big victory for this greiving father.

This father feels that our system of justice worked in this case. The sad part is he'll never be able to celebrate with his daughter.



In December, Cole Morrow removed his five-month-old girl, Estella Lacey, from her mother's home in Murray-- a suspected meth house. Morrow got into a fight with the mom's boyfriend in the process, managed to take the girl to his home in Nevada, but later had to give her back.

Then, he was charged with burglary and assaulting the boyfriend.

He gave his daughter back on December 20, and eight days later she died from swallowing a bag of methamphetamine.

All along, Morrow and his lawyer argued the charges against the father were outrageous.

Cole Morrow/Father: "I'm not a criminal. I was just protecting my daughter."

Gregory Hawkins/Hawkins & Sorensen/Last week: "Here's a man who steps up to defend a child, the child is killed, and the state has the gall to charge him with a crime."

The people now charged are the mother, Mary Lacey, and her boyfriend, Raymond Chesley. Investigators say the two never called 911 after the girl ate the drugs or while she violently reacted to the meth.

They are accused of taking her body from the home where she died to another home. They are charged with desecration of a dead body, a third-degree felony, and Chesley also is charged with first-degree felony child endangerment.

He has an arraignment scheduled for today on the endangerment charge. We'll follow that for you and have more on it later today.

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It looks like the druggy boyfriend tried to stop the father and the father righteously beat the boyfriend.  It's a shame the boyfriend isn't dead instead of the baby girl.

What a sad situation. It's too bad judges can't simply be fired for being so piss poor in judgement.