During a nine-hour interrogation with police about the death of her 2-year-old son, a judge said Susan Griffin was chatty — almost “hyper.”
“A lot of talking was initiated by Mrs. Griffin,” Baltimore County Circuit Court Judge Timothy Martin said in a court hearing Thursday.
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“There are hundreds of questions from Mrs. Griffin to the police detectives — ‘explain this, officer,’ ‘explain that, officer.’”
But Griffin was silent as Martin ruled the interrogation can be presented during her trial on first-degree murder and child abuse charges.
Griffin, 38, and her husband, 39, are accused of starving and beating their son, Andrew, to death in their Rodgers Forge home. The couple was taken into custody Dec. 26, 2007, after Andrew died at St. Joseph’s Medical Center.
The boy’s bones were clearly defined through his skin, which was covered in scrapes and bruises, hospital officials said. Andrew’s father, network engineer John Griffin, told police he and his wife had administered CPR for about 20 minutes after noticing Andrew was unconscious.
The couple delayed taking Andrew to the hospital while they discussed caring for their four other children. At the time, Susan Griffin — who has another child from a previous relationship — was pregnant with her seventh child.
Griffin’s defense attorneys said police told her an interrogation is standard procedure when a child dies. They said police promised to take her home if she made a statement, and ignored her request for an attorney.
“She said, ‘I just need to go see Andrew,’ who, of course, is the child she just learned was deceased,” attorney Edward Barry said.
But prosecutor Robin Coffin said Griffin told police she had “nothing to hide.”
“They asked her if she understood her right to silence,” Coffin said, reading from a transcript. “She said, ‘Yeah, it means shut up — something I can’t do.’”
Also Thursday, Martin ruled the couple will share a trial, scheduled to begin Oct. 27. The case could pit husband against wife, attorneys said.
Attorneys for both Griffins said evidence uncovered during a search of their Old Trail Road home should be thrown out because the search-warrant application was too vague. Martin said he will rule on the request within one week.
John Griffin is free on bail, but his wife remains in Baltimore County Detention Center. The couple’s two oldest children are living with their grandmother and four others are in custody of Social Services. The youngest, born in jail, is in foster care.
Examiner staff writer Luke Broadwater contributed to this report.
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