Hearing postponed for woman accused of son’s death
The preliminary hearing for a Eureka woman accused of her son’s death has been postponed until next month.
Conflict Counsel Owen Tipps, appearing on behalf of Conflict Counsel Supervising Attorney Meagan O’Connell, said his office received a thumb drive with a lot of additional evidence re
lated to the case of Pamela Faye Millsap, 38, who is being held at the Humboldt County jail on a count of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of felony child abuse and a special allegation of using a firearm. As a result, Tipps made a motion to postpone the preliminary hearing, which Judge Kaleb Cockrum granted.
The date for the new preliminary hearing, during which it will be determined if there’s enough evidence to hold Millsap for the crime, is April 2 with an intervention hearing, to determine if the lawyers are ready to proceed to the preliminary hearing,
scheduled for March 26.
Deputy District Attorney Carolyn Schaffer said her office anticipated the defense would need additional time to look through the evidence, especially in light of the seriousness of the charges.
Millsap is being accused of shooting her 17-year- old son with a shotgun on Feb. 18 “without malice” and during “a sudden quarrel” in the “heat of passion,” according to court documents. The documents also have two counts of child endangerment, one for an individual with the same birth date as the deceased and one for a 10-year-old girl.
Officers were dispatched to the Millsaps’ home on Union Street in Eureka around 7:22 p.m. on Feb. 18 in response to a report of a domestic disturbance, according to a Eureka Police Department press release.
While responding to the disturbance, officers received a report that a 17-year- old boy had been shot. The teen was found him suffering from a gunshot wound when officers arrived, according to the release.
The boy was transported to the hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
The following morning, the Millsaps’ residence was destroyed in a house fire that appeared to be accidental and unrelated to the homicide investigation, the release states.