Heidi Broussard murder: Preliminary hearings continue
AUSTIN, Texas - A Houston woman accused of killing a South Austin mother and abducting her newborn daughter appeared in a Travis County courtroom Friday for a preliminary hearing.
Magen Fieramusca is accused of killing her longtime friend Heidi Broussard "on or around" Dec. 12, 2019, and abducting her newborn daughter Margo Carey.
A witness reported seeing the women "lovingly embrace" and get into a silver or gray car together.
One week later several law enforcement agencies — the Texas Department of Public Safety, FBI and Austin Police Department entered Fieramusca’s boyfriend’s Harris County residence. They recovered baby Margo unharmed, discovered Broussard’s body in the trunk of a silver car, and arrested Fieramusca.
Law enforcement entered the residence without a warrant. Friday, several Texas Rangers and one Austin Police Officer testified they did so because they had reason to believe Margo was inside the home and in danger.
"In Texas we have a myriad of warrantless exceptions to the searches. And so it's going to depend on what's called the exigency of it? So certainly an emergency, right? A baby being in danger… you'd want to, as a defense lawyer, attack the validity of the emergency," explained criminal defense attorney Steve Toland, who is not affiliated with the case.
Friday, each law enforcement officer testified that they rescued the child and secured the property – but waited for a warrant to initiate a search.
In Austin Police Sgt. Patrick Eastlick’s body camera video, a Texas Ranger can be heard telling other law enforcement officers "once it’s cleared everybody else get the f— out of the house because it’s a crime scene."
Fieramusca's defense attorneys pointed out that Texas Ranger Eric Lopez started a crime scene log at 1:25 p.m. that day. He submitted photos to evidence that were taken in bright sunlight. However, a search warrant was not secured until 8:53 p.m. Sunset in Houston was 5:26 p.m.
Lopez maintained that it would be "inappropriate" to search inside or outside the home without a warrant.
Final arguments and a ruling will be made on the motion on April 28 at 9 a.m. in Travis County.
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