Judge postpones ruling on stabbing confession
Lawyers given more time in case of woman tracked to Maryland.
Melanie Eam is facing trial on a second-degree murder charge in the slaying of her ex-boyfriend.
COURTS LOXAHATCHEE FATAL STABBING WEST PALM BEACH — A judge’s decision on whether Melanie Eam’s confession in the fatal stabbing of her ex-boyfriend will be allowed in court must wait for another day.
Circuit Judge Glenn Kelley did not rule Wednesday on whether statements Eam provided to investigators in Maryland can be part of the evidence in her upcoming trial.
Eam is accused of stabbing James Barry Jr., 21, on Nov. 16, 2016, after he had messaged her saying he wanted to end their relationship. Investigators said she fled the scene, leaving her cellphone on the porch of the Loxahatchee home where Barry lived with his mother, and drove to Maryland, where she stayed with family.
Detectives eventually spoke with her in the home in Silver Spring, Md., just outside of Washington, D.C., and the Sheriff’s Office said she confessed to the fatal attack. Eam is charged with second-degree murder.
Kelley said because of time constraints Wednesday night, he would allow the lawyers until Monday to let him know if they need more time for arguments. If he does not hear from either of them, he said, he will make his ruling. The next court hearing is set for February, when they will discuss a trial date.
Family members of both Eam and Barry were inside the courtroom Wednesday afternoon to learn of Kelley’s ruling.
Eam’s confession was called into question in a motion filed in August by Eam’s lawyer, Bruce Lehr of Miami. He asked that the interview between Eam, then 20, and sheriff ’s Detective Sean Oliver be thrown out as evidence.
Lehr argued in the motion that Eam repeatedly asked for a lawyer while she was questioned by Oliver, but Oliver told Eam that a lawyer might get in the way and he just wanted her side of the story, according to documents. Her lawyers argued that she was not read her Miranda rights and wasn’t told she was under arrest. Eam’s car was also towed and local law enforcement sat outside of her house, which did not lead Eam to believe she was “free to go,” according to the motion.
In the transcript of the interview at her family’s home, Eam said she didn’t mean to hurt Barry, but that she grabbed a knife from the kitchen and fatally injured him. She wasn’t sure he had died until she heard the news. She said she still had the shirt from that night with his blood on it, according to records.
On Oct. 10, lawyers gave their sides of the argument in court and Eam took the stand. Eam said she did not think she was free to go. Oliver also took the stand and said everyone in the room — Eam and her family — knew he was recording.
In court Wednesday, Lehr brought in Eam’s cousins, Mongkol and Lena Ouk, who were in the Maryland home when Eam was questioned. Mongkol Ouk said he felt trapped in his mother’s home because of the unmarked police vehicles. Assistant State Attorney Lauren Godden asked how he knew they were unmarked police vehicles. Ouk explained the cars that were parked at the time weren’t normally in the culde-sac.
An officer with the Montgo m ery Co un ty P o lice Department said several vehicles were swapped out in the area while they waited for the Palm Beach County Sheriff ’s Office. He said their job was not to arrest Eam but to keep an eye on her movements until the Sheriff ’s Office made its way to the home, so they could relay her whereabouts.
Eam’s confession was called into question in a motion filed in August by Eam’s lawyer.