Judge to decide whether to admit new evidence in Mitin case
Melissa Mitin is charged with murder and concealing the death of a newborn.
Judge to decide whether to admit new evidence in Mitin case Melissa Mitin is charged with murder and concealing the death of a newborn. Check out this story on Freep.com: https://on.freep.com/1X9rAao
Matt Mencarini, Lansing State Journal Published 7:00 p.m. ET Feb. 5, 2016
Melissa Mitin talks with her defense team Friday, Feb. 5, 2016, during a motion hearing in Judge James Jamo's courtroom at the Ingham County Courthouse in Lansing.(Photo: Dave Wasinger Lansing State Journal)
LANSING — Less than two months from the start of her murder trial, defense attorneys for the Okemos woman charged in the death of her first baby tried to keep out evidence that she left her second newborn in a dumpster.
The evidence related to 26-year-old Melissa Mitin's second baby isn't relevant to the charges that have been filed and will only prejudice the jury against her, defense attorneys argued.
They also said Friday in Ingham County Circuit Court that prosecutors shouldn't be allowed to add a first-degree child abuse charge against their client because it's been more than a year and a half since she was charged.
Prosecutors argued that evidence related to the pregnancy, birth and death of Mitin's second baby show a pattern and diminish the argument that she didn't know she was pregnant and panicked after giving birth. They said the new charge should be added because its elements were presented during Mitin's preliminary hearing and the defense was aware the new charge were coming months ago.
Prosecutors: Mom left baby in gas station dumpster
Ingham County Circuit Court Judge James Jamo said at the end of the motion hearing Friday that he'll issue a written decision on the two issues, but didn't give a time frame.
A trial date has been set for April 4.
Mitin is charged with murder and concealing the death of a newborn in connection with the December 2013 death of her first baby, a girl. She faces up to life in prison if convicted.
Prosecutors say Mitin killed her newborn daughter in 2013 by putting her face-down into a wastebasket while she and her family were staying at a friend's home.
She was charged in that death in May 2014. Three months later, she was pregnant again, unbeknownst to authorities handling the murder case. She had been free on bond. That pregnancy was publicly revealed during a hearing in January 2015. The second infant — a boy — has not been found.
Prosecutors filed a motion last month to admit evidence during the trial that doctors told Mitin she was pregnant with her second baby and that she concealed it from her parents, as she had done with her first pregnancy.
Mitin shared details of the first and second births with an inmate she befriended in jail after the second pregnancy was discovered and her bond was revoked, prosecutors said. She told the fellow inmate she gave birth to a stillborn baby the week before Christmas 2014. Mitin then put the baby in a green bag she'd been given with a birthday present and left it in a dumpster at an Okemos gas station, according to court records.
Police investigating the whereabouts of the second child found a "substantial amount of blood" in Mitin's bedroom, according to the motion, and a credit card belonging to Mitin's father, which she often used, was used at the gas station Dec. 18, 2014.
In criminal cases, a defendant's actions not related to the charged offense can't be brought up if their only purpose is to provide evidence of the accused's character. To be admissible, they must do more, and judges have to consider whether admitting that sort of testimony will prejudice a jury.
After giving birth to her first baby, Mitin lied and said she was raped by a stranger, knowing that her parents wouldn't approve of the relationship with the baby's father, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Jonathan Roth said in court Friday. She also lied about the pregnancy and events surrounding the birth of her second baby, he added.
Evidence of the second baby should be allowed, Roth argued, because both the first and second birth happened in isolation with only Mitin present and the events show a pattern and intent.
"If the claim is that this whole thing with the first (baby) was a terrible accident never to be repeated, then the fact that it is immediately repeated thereafter belies that assertion — that it was done deliberately the first time because it's done again deliberately the second time," he said.
Joshua Richardson, one of Mitin's attorneys, told Jamo that prosecutors have said they can prove the case without the additional evidence and that admitting it could confuse the jury or prohibit Mitin from an impartial jury.
"(Prosecutors) want to paint a picture of Ms. Mitin as somebody who is of the type who would do this sort of thing," he said. "The want to paint these types of pictures. That's what the law says you can't do. That's what the law says is character evidence and ultimately is unfairly prejudicial."
Matt Mencarini is a reporter for the Lansing State Journal. Contact him at 517-267-1347 or mmencarini@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattMencarini.
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