Abuse alleged in murder case
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The 17-year-old Eureka boy who was fatally shot earlier this year had accused his mother of sexually assaulting him as a child before he was killed, a Eureka detective said at his mother’s preliminary hearing Wednesday at the Humboldt County courthouse.
Pamela Millsap, 38, is accused of voluntary manslaughter and two counts of child abuse related to the death of her son at their home on or about Feb. 18. Eureka Police Department Detective Corrie Watson testified Millsap told her she and her son had gotten into an argument in the laundry room before he was fatally shot.
“John Doe brought up that she had in fact sexually molested him when he was a child by performing oral sex on him,” Watson said.
Watson said Millsap’s son came into the laundry room and began eating a burrito where she was using her phone. At one point he stopped eating the burrito and said he didn’t feel good, Watson said, after which Millsap wrapped up the burrito and put it in the fridge. She then moved further into the laundry room and continued to use her phone.
Her son got upset and said he was going to call Dave, who Millsap’s boyfriend said wasn’t allowed at the house, and have him come over and began kicking the washing machine when Millsap responded by continuing to look at her phone, Watson said.
It’s unclear when the conversation about the sexual assault came up. Watson testified Millsap said John Doe threatened to kill Millsap’s daughter.
She told her son to calm down, Watson said, after which he began threatening to beat and stab her, but he also didn’t make any moves to strike her when she left the room to go grab her shotgun to scare him.
When Millsap and her son encountered each other again, he was crying and grabbed the barrel of the shotgun, pressed it against his neck and told her to shoot him because he was ready to die, Watson said.
Millsap said her finger wasn’t on the trigger, but Watson said Millsap’s daughter didn’t see John Doe’s hands near the back end of the shotgun at any point.
Millsap’s son frequently drank alcohol and he had a fraught relationship with her boyfriend, Watson said.
Millsap told her “she had no real control over his drinking and did not know where he was getting the alcohol from,” but Watson noted there were open containers of hard liquor readily available on the kitchen counter.
Her son’s friend also told Watson that “John Doe was frequently furnished alcohol by his family members.”
Conflict Counsel April Van Dyke questioned whether the alcohol was actually furnished by family members and asked questions of the detective regarding whether a shotgun could go off by being dropped.
Millsap’s son repeatedly threatened her and her family, Van Dyke said.
The preliminary hearing was still ongoing at press time Thursday.