Hearing Continued In Shaken Baby Case
Defense requests time to review interrogation tape
Courtesy of The Roseville Press-Tribune | June 7, 2006
By: Jake Dorsey | jaked@goldcountrymedia.com
Attorneys in the murder case of 15-month-old Hannah Rose Juceam met Tuesday with Judge Robert P. Melhany in court and agreed to a continuance to June 20.
Public defender Andy Reed represented Veronica Martinez Salcedo, who is charged with Hannah's death. Reed asked the judge for a continuance, saying he needed to further review Martinez Salcedo's taped interrogation by police.
Larry DeMotes, an investigator with the public defender's office, said there probably would be no new evidence introduced in the near future.
Scott Juceam, Hannah's father, said the continuance was anticipated. He said the family was prepared for a long case.
"It's what we have to do," he said as he stood next to his wife, Lorena.
A date for a vigil at the state capitol will be announced soon, Juceam said. The Hannah Rose Foundation, created to educate parents about shaken baby syndrome, is also gaining acknowledgement quickly.
Juceam said Clear Channel Communica-tions has already in-stalled billboards about the foundation along Interstate 80, with some as far away as the Bay Area. He said there was "a good chance" the billboard campaign will be extended nationally.
The Juceams will also appear on the nationally broadcast television program "Inside Edition" at 4 p.m. today on KXTV Channel 10.
Martinez Salcedo, who has remained in the Placer County Jail without bail since her arrest last month, is facing a second-degree murder charge and a charge of child abuse in the death of Hannah.
Roseville Police investigators said Martinez Salcedo was baby-sitting for the Juceam family May 11.
The family has said they hired Martinez Salcedo on recommendations from a friend to help watch their three children: 15-month-old Hannah and her twin brother Ben, who has Down Syndrome, and 3-year-old Jordon.
Scott and Lorena Juceam were away from the home May 11, and when they returned home, they discovered their daughter unresponsive and she was rushed to Sutter Medical Center Roseville, police said.
Hannah died from traumatic brain injuries consistent with shaken baby syndrome, according to a Roseville Police Department press release. Martinez Salcedo, who was booked under her married name, Martinez, had helped raise the Juceams' children for nearly one year before Hannah's death. Martinez Salcedo was arrested May 12 on charges of child abuse. The second-degree murder charge was added after the Juceams took Hannah off life support on May 13.
Preliminary autopsy reports state Hannah died of injuries consistent with shaken baby syndrome.
Martinez Salcedo also is being held without bail on a charge of entering the country illegally.