The defense team for Amanda Hinze, who was the girlfriend of Takoda’s father, Al-Mutahan McLean, asked a judge to prevent prosecutors from using evidence gathered during interviews with the woman and during searches of the home in the course of their investigation.
The judge denied that request, saying that the authorities followed the law during their investigation.
The ruling also describes an alleged conversation between the sisters during their police interrogation.
“Det. (David) House recalled that Ebert told Hinze that she was going to tell the truth, that she was not ‘going down for this.’ Det. House testified that Hinze responded to Ebert saying that she ‘should tell the truth because they didn’t do anything to help [T.C.].’”
The ruling comes as trials in the case where authorities say the boy suffered “extreme abuse” and was physically and mentally tortured for years are set to begin next month. Collins died on Dec. 13, 2019, and the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office ruled that the boy died of blunt force trauma in combination with compressive asphyxia and water submersion (bathtub). They ruled his death a homicide.
Hinze, 30, is charged with involuntary manslaughter, kidnapping and endangering children. She has pleaded not guilty to the charges. She is scheduled to go to trial on Sept. 27.
Ebert has pleaded guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter and endangering children.
McLean is charged with murder, involuntary manslaughter, felonious assault, rape of a child under the age of 13, kidnapping and endangering children. His attorneys have filed motions to suppress as well. But his case is restricted to the public, so it’s unclear exactly what he is seeking to suppress and whether Montgomery County Common Pleas Court Judge Dennis Adkins has made a decision.
McLean is set to go to trial on Sept. 13.
The judge has also issued a gag order in both Hinze’s and McLean’s cases, meaning attorneys are not allowed to speak with the media about them.
In his ruling, the judge detailed the 9-1-1 call and the many law enforcement officers who testified during the motion to suppress hearings. The judge said that according to the call, which records show was placed by McLean, the child had mental health issues and a brown substance was coming out of his mouth.
One officer who testified said that he saw Hinze drive up to the home on Dec. 13, 2019.
“McLean informed Officer Evans that he previously lived at the residence with Hinze, but she had moved out due to T.C.’s alleged behavioral issues,” the court document says.
The exact timing of when Hinze moved out of the house isn’t clear.
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