A district court judge denied a couple of motions to quash evidence regarding the capital murder case of a Corpus Christi woman accused in the drowning death of her stepson.
"I wanted consent for the vehicle, and also to let her know I'd like to interview her," said Detective Erin Pena of the Corpus Christi Police Department.
Pena was on the stand Thursday, telling the judge that she had the verbal "okay" to search 47-year old Laura Day's car.
Day sat next to her attorney listening as police investigators recalled how she gave them permission to search her car, and how she voluntarily accompanied them to police headquarters for further questioning.
Day used her personal vehicle to transport her stepson, six-year old Taylor Syring, from the beach near Bob Hall Pier to Bay Area Hospital, after the child was found facedown in the water. He was pronounced dead at the hospital, and police were called in to begin their investigation.
They were looking for specific items.
"Anything that was involved in the transportation of the child, but basically in this case, because it was a drowning, my concern was a personal life vest he would have worn, and I understood that there was," CCPD Detective Michael Elsey said.
Four days after the drowning, Day was arrested and charged with child endangerment, which was then upgraded to capital murder. Day's defense team plans to request a change of venue, fearing their client will not be able to get a fair trial in Nueces County because of the publicity. They plan to ask the judge for a change of venue next month.
