HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — A mother accused of beating her 1-year-old child to death has made a request to take a polygraph test before going to trial.
On Friday morning in the Superior Court of Guam, Judge Vernon Perez heard the case for Giltinan Ramangmou and Paul John Tuncap Cruz, who face charges related to the death of their 1-year-old son, who was found by police last month to have multiple severe head injuries.
Perez started off the hearing by explaining several motions had been filed in the case, which included a request by Ramangmou to take a polygraph, or lie detector, test prior to going to trial. Ramangmou was expected to go trial this month but she waived her right to a speedy trial during the Friday hearing.
Ramangmou’s attorney, William Bischoff, said the defense would be willing to wait to “take advantage of the opportunity” to take the polygraph test.
Although the motions were not argued orally, Assistant Attorney General Leah Diaz-Aguon spoke on behalf of the assigned prosecutor, Sean Brown, and explained Brown did not oppose the request for a polygraph test.
“Mr. Brown doesn’t oppose a polygraph test. … There might be some admissibility issues in terms of the content of the test itself, but he’s willing to accommodate,” Diaz-Aguon said.
Other motions discussed included a request to sever the cases, which would mean Ramangmou and Cruz would have separate trials. Diaz-Aguon said Brown opposed severing the cases, however, he understood the “legal practicality” of having two trials.
Additionally, a motion was filed to allow a witness, a 6-year-old minor, to be interviewed.
Diaz-Aguon said Brown did not oppose the motion and was willing to accommodate, but would like the interview to be done only once “to reduce any potential trauma to the minor.”
Following the attorneys’ discussions, Perez said he was inclined to address interviewing the 6-year-old minor fairly soon because “it is important discovery.”
Perez asked parties to return Friday morning, Dec. 22, to give further arguments on the motions.
Charges
Ramangmou’s charges stem from allegations she punched her 1-year-old son, who was later found by police to be pulseless, breathless and with multiple severe head injuries.
When met by the officers, Ramangmou allegedly was crying hysterically and yelling, “I should’ve taken him to the hospital. I’m so sorry, God!”
Ramangmou, according to court documents, told police the child was on the bed, but that he had fallen on his face. She said she treated the child by putting ice on his head.
Officers saw the boy had multiple severe head injuries and that rigor mortis and livor mortis had set in, which suggested several hours had passed before the authorities were contacted. The magistrate’s complaint stated that the Guam Police Department was contacted about three hours after Cruz told Ramangmou to call.
Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Jeffrey Nine also conducted an initial assessment of the child’s injuries and found them to be consistent with “battered baby syndrome,” adding that the boy had injuries similar to that of a “child involved in a vehicle collision at a high rate of speed,” the complaint said.
Paul John Tuncap Cruz
