Cousin of Burlington murder victim charged with contempt of court after alleged disruption

BURLINGTON, N.C. (WTVD) -- The cousin of a Burlington murder victim is considering filing a lawsuit after she was charged with contempt of court following that suspect's court appearance.

Josselyn Farrior, Kaseem Peterson's cousin, was in court Monday when Hyquan Parker went in front of a judge.

"It was disbelief, I thought they made a mistake," Farrior said, of learning Peterson had been killed.

Parker, 26, of Durham, was charged with three counts of first-degree murder and is being held in the Alamance County jail in lieu of a $3 million bond, police said Monday.

Farrior said after Parker was denied bond, some in the courtroom cheered, prompting Judge James Hill to clear the room.

While Farrior said she did not cheer, she followed the orders. While outside of the courtroom, she said she referred to the judge as a racist, which prompted a deputy to approach her and say the judge wanted to see her. Farrior said she didn't want to see him before deputies physically detained her.

"I didn't become a disruption until the officers were trying to arrest me, and they couldn't tell me why they were trying to arrest me," Farrior said.

Court documents state Farrior was "loud, disruptive and cursed the deputy," adding court proceedings had to be suspended until she was brought under control.

"I asked for a lawyer. The bailiff told me I wasn't going to get one," Farrior said.

She was eventually sentenced to 10 days for contempt of court and claimed that was at the suggestion of the bailiff.

"When he said 10 days, I said that's not fair. And the same bailiff told (the judge) to give me 10 days, came over and whispered to me, 'I could have asked for 30 (days). You're lucky I only asked for 10 (days),'" Farrior claimed.

Farrior posted bond after spending a night and decried the state of the jail.

"The conditions of that jail are horrible," Farrior said.

On Wednesday, she went to the hospital to get her arm and shoulder checked for injuries she said she suffered when deputies detained her.

"I'm sore. I have bruises everywhere," said Farrior, who wore a sling during our interview.

Farrior claimed to have taken issue with Judge Hill's handling of a previous case, although she did not name the case.

In 2015, the Judicial Standards Commission publicly reprimanded Hill stemming from inappropriate comments made during a custody hearing in 2014.

The order stated that the misconduct appeared to be "isolated," noting his good standing in the community and above-average Judicial Performance Evaluation.

In a statement to ABC11 regarding Monday's incident, Hill wrote, "I do not feel it is appropriate to comment on this pursuant to the Cannons of Judicial Ethics."

Farrior is due back in court next month.