The attorney for one of the suspects in an infant murder investigation does not want his client speaking to media, stating his client has “disabilities from mental retardation” and “may be influenced to say things that are not accurate.”
Attorney Jacob Blizzard is representing 22-year-old Damian Cate, who is accused of contributing to the death of a newborn baby that died at an Abilene home Monday.
Blizzard released the following statement to media Friday:
“I am the attorney representing Damian Cate. On behalf of Mr. Cate, I am requesting that all news media outlets refrain from attempting to interview Mr. Cate at the Taylor County Jail. I am happy to address questions that media outlets may have regarding Mr. Cate’s case as more information becomes available to extent that such disclosure is appropriate.
Mr. Cate’s situation requires that he not speak publicly about his case as such information may be misconstrued by the public or the state in the prosecution of Mr. Cate. In addition, Mr. Cate is a young man with disabilities from mental retardation with memory and mental processing difficulties and may be influenced to say things that are not accurate. All of our community seeks to find the truth. The information being distributed in the media does not present a full picture of the events. I would caution the public not to make premature conclusions about what did or did not transpire based on the limited investigative documents and reports obtained by the media.
In the United States, all persons accused of a crime are presumed to be innocent. The presumption of innocence is a crucial part of who we are as Americans, because as Americans we greatly value liberty and freedom. All persons are entitled to a trial by a jury of his peers where the government would be required to prove that he did commit a crime. The rights of all Taylor County citizens are hurt when the fellow citizens make prejudgments based on limited account of events. I ask that the citizens of Taylor County afford Mr. Cate the same presumption of innocence that they would want if they or a loved one was accused of a crime.”
The mother of the newborn, 18-year-old Amber Craker, has also been arrested in connection to the baby’s death.
Both Craker and Cate are charged with 1st Degree Murder charge and Tampering with/Fabricating Physical Evidence and are being held in jail on $300,000 bond each.
The suspects declined a requests for interview from BigCountryHomepage.com/KTAB-TV/KRBC-TV.
(Information from BigCountryHomepage.com
