Motion to suppress evidence in deadly child abuse case

One of the suspects in the deadly Salinas child abuse case was back in court Monday. Lawyers for accused killer Gonzalo Curiel are trying to exclude certain evidence from the upcoming trial.

Prosecutors questioned a handful of law enforcement officials from Plumas and Butte Counties and Redding. All of the prosecutors played important roles at the beginning of the investigation.

KION spoke to prosecutors about it back on December 20.

“Each of the witnesses in the chain that led us to that storage locker and gave us probable cause to get a search warrant to go into that storage locker and the reasons why police actually entered the storage locker before they had the search warrant, we’ll put that information onto why that was done as well,” said Steve Somers with the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office.

The first person to testify was a Plumas County deputy who initially responded to a report of a child who appeared malnourished at an apartment in Quincy.

That’s when Huntsman got on the radar with local authorities. She introduced the deputy to her “three children,” a pair of twins and Curiel.

When asked about Jane Doe, Huntsman told them she was in her car outside and led them to the vehicle.

The witness said Jane Doe was found in the backseat floorboard area of Huntsman’s Toyota 4Runner, curled up in the fetal position showing signs of abuse and malnourishment.

The second person to testify was assigned to continue the child abuse investigation.

He got into contact with a family member of Huntsman, who then alerted him to the fact Shaun and Delylah were also missing.

In a phone conversation that was played during court, the caller, identified as Huntsman’s mother, told investigators she hadn’t seen the children since Halloween. She also said she heard that Delylah was zip-tied to a bed and that Tami’s other children said the younger ones were being abused.

The witness aid he reached out to other jurisdictions in but his dead ends and wasn’t getting cooperation from Huntsman. He eventually reached out to Butte County authorities, where Curiel was being held.

Another investigator testified about his conversation with Curiel, and said during the conversation Curiel told him, “for sure the kids are not OK.”

We also heard from two members of the Redding Police Department.

One said the storage unit was searched before a warrant was signed off on, because he thought it would be a life-saving effort, that he had hope the children were alive.

Once inside, there was a strong smell of fabric softener, miscellaneous items like duffel bags and backpacks and the bin, where the children’s bodies were discovered.

Prosecutors say they want to get all of the testimony on the table, before discussing the legalities and concerns the defense brought up. Testimony is expected through Tuesday, no word when the judge will make a decision.

Huntsman will be back in court on Wednesday for another hearing.