Liz Carroll plays the victim

Liz Carroll's lawyer fights statements
Mentally ill when she spoke, he argues
Brunsman, Barrett. Cincinnati Enquirer, Dec. 20, 2006, News pg. 6A.

Because Liz Carroll was mentally ill and had suicidal tendencies, anything she said to investigators before her arrest in the death of her 3-year-old foster son, Marcus Fiesel, shouldn't be admitted as evidence against her in a murder trial in Clermont County, her attorney said in a court filing.

Carroll, 30, "was in a very fragile state of mind at the time of her interrogation as a result of the death of her foster child, her physical condition, and threats to her safety by both David Carroll and Amy Baker," according to the motion filed late Monday in the Court of Common Pleas by defense attorney Gregory A. Cohen.

Her husband, David J. Carroll Jr., 29, has also been charged with murder in Clermont County. Amy Baker, 25, the live-in girlfriend of the couple, is expected to be the primary witness against them.

Liz Carroll was "nearly catatonic" after being questioned by police at Mercy Hospital Anderson on Aug. 16, the day after she claimed she had passed out in Juilfs Park and lost track of Marcus, according to one of several Monday court filings by Cohen. A psychiatrist at the hospital "recommended an involuntary admission for observation of her suicidal tendencies."

Treated for mental state
A subsequent report by a court-appointed psychologist who evaluated Carroll "indicates her mental illness and the probability of post-traumatic stress disorder," according to the filing.

Liz Carroll and her husband are being held in lieu of $10.1 million bail apiece in the jail in Clermont County, where they also have been charged with involuntary manslaughter, kidnapping, felonious assault and endangering a child.

"Since her incarceration, she has been treated with medications for her mental state," Cohen wrote. "Ms. Carroll was not in a stable mental state when she was interrogated by police officers and prosecutors."

Also Monday, Cohen asked Judge Robert P. Ringland of the Clermont County Court of Common Pleas to clarify whether Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters must abide by a gag order on lawyers that Ringland issued Sept. 26 in the Liz Carroll murder case.

"This past week," Cohen wrote, "Deters called the Carrolls killers" in comments to reporters.

Liz Carroll's right to a fair trial in Clermont County might be jeopardized if Deters makes such assertions before an unbiased jury is selected, according to the filing. Her trial is to begin Jan. 22.

Deters said Tuesday that Cohen had mischaracterized what happened.

"I was commenting on an action in Hamilton County," Deters said. "It had nothing to do with" the Clermont County cases.

As to the Carrolls, "everything we have stated publicly has been accurate and fair and has not been prejudicial," Deters said.

Contact complaint
Cohen said in a separate court filing Monday that Liz Carroll's right to a fair trial is also being jeopardized by improper contact by case workers for Clermont County Children's Protective Services.

The four children of Liz and David Carroll were placed in foster care after the couple's Aug. 28 arrest in Hamilton County.

Cohen has requested that Ringland order the case workers not to speak to Liz Carroll when she is not accompanied by himself or her court-appointed attorney in the custody case, Katherine M. Kelly.

"The agency's conduct represents an attempt to elicit incriminating statements from Ms. Carroll," Cohen wrote. "Statements which would no doubt be immediately passed on to the prosecutor's office."

The Ohio Administrative Code requires case workers to have monthly visits with the parents of children in county custody, Clermont County spokeswoman Kathy Lehr said Tuesday.

"Clermont County Children's Protective Services is currently in compliance with that section of the code," Lehr said. "If the court rules to prohibit visits between Liz Carroll and a CPS case worker, we will comply."