Raleigh mom accused of abusing her baby gets trial date
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- Marty Peele appeared in a Wake County courtroom Tuesday with a new attorney by her side, Mike Klinkosum. She is facing felony and misdemeanor charges of child abuse. Peele was previously represented by a public defender, but after hearing about Peele's fight, Klinkosum, a top criminal defense lawyer in the state, signed onto Marty's fight pro bono.
Read more: Raleigh mom denies hurting baby
Peele's son, Micah, was stripped away from his mother in July of 2014. Police say Peele broke twelve of her 4-month-old son's ribs. Since being arrested, Peele's been fighting to prove she did not hurt her son. Instead she says Micah's injuries are due to a bone disorder, and several doctors from around the country agree. Just last month, Peele sat down with me and showed me the X-rays, medical reports, and doctor letters that support her claim that Micah's injuries are due to a vitamin D deficiency and bone disease.
In court Tuesday, Prosecutor Melanie Shekita criticized Peele for talking to ABC11 and accusing the state of medically kidnapping Micah. Shekita said the state is not stalling its case and is prepared to try this as soon as possible.
She also claims while she was able to download Peele's medical experts' statements from ABC11.com, Tuesday in court is the first time she was given the statements from the medical doctors that claims Micah's injuries are due to a bone condition.
Peele's attorney Mike Klinkosum filed a motion in court today asking the judge to amend Peele's bond conditions, which includes not having any contact with her son. Klinkosum argued its Peele's constitutional rights to have at the very least supervised visitation with her son.
Prosecutor Shekita argued against changing the bond conditions. She said the state still has grave concerns for the safety of the child. The judge denied Klinkosum's motion, keeping Peele from having any contact with her son. The judge will hear the motion again on April 11. The judge said if Klinkosum could find case law that says it's impermissible to keep the bond condition of no contact, he will reconsider.
The judge set the trial date for August 22nd. Shekita said the state is ready to go now, but understands the need to wait for Peele's experts to be available. Several of Peele's medical experts are from out of state. Both sides said this trial will be a battle of the experts.
Peele has not seen her son since she was arrested on the child abuse charges in July of 2014, and he is currently in the care of his paternal grandmother. Micah just celebrated his 2nd birthday, a celebration Peele could only see pictures of. In our previous interview with Peele, she said while her hearts aches each day she can't be with her son, she will continue to fight to prove her innocence. She refuses to accept a possibility in which her son is never returned to her, she says.
Since my story aired last month, Peele's case has caught national attention as she made an appearance on the Dr. Phil Show. A petition has also been started in support of Peele. So far, close to 12,000 people have signed it. A YouCaring site has also been set up to help with the financial cost of bringing in Peele's medical experts.
