Officers take stand in murder pretrial

LOCKPORT, N.Y. (WIVB) - Judge Matthew Murphy is considering whether murder suspect John Freeman Jr.'s confession to police in the murder of 5-year-old Isabella Tennant can be used in a jury trial.

During a pretrial hearing on Monday, four police officers took the stand to answer questions about their interactions with and questioning of suspected murderer John Freeman, Jr.

Freeman is charged with murdering 5-year-old Isabella "Bella" Tennant last August in Niagara Falls while she was at her great grandmother’s home on 6th Street. Prosecutors say Freeman, who was considered a family friend, suffocated the little girl when he was left alone to watch her.

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Freeman appeared in court Monday, where officers answered questions about their interactions with and questioning of the teen-aged suspect.

Lt. Robert Rosati was questioned first and talked about interviewing Freeman before Bella was discovered. Freeman was described as cooperative and his father, John Freeman Sr. was present and also helpful. Freeman said he last saw Bella the night before she was found dead.  Freeman told Rosati he always leaves at 11:58 to walk to the casino to meet his father at the end of his father's shift to walk home with him. Freeman's father testified his son did not meet him at the casino that night.

Next on the stand was Deputy Patrick Tighe, a former Niagara Falls Police Department patrolman, now with the county sheriff's office. He responded to the early-morning missing person call. He first questioned Freeman that morning. According to Tighe, Freeman said he left Bella at her great-grandmother's and she was coloring. Later in the morning, the deputy transported Freeman to police headquarters with a detective for questioning. Deputy said Freeman was not handcuffed and was put in an unmarked, non-caged police car. Freeman Sr. also came to police headquarters on his own.

Next on the stand was Detective Lorrie Alvarez from the Juvenile Unit. Many of the same questions were asked by lawyers about how Freeman was transported and whether Freeman was handcuffed. Alvarez said before getting into her police car, Freeman gave her his cell phone unasked, which she held onto.

During the initial missing-person interview with Freeman, Tyler Best's name was brought up as someone who was also at Bella's great-grandmother's house the night of Bella's death. Alvarez said the interview with Freeman lasted about two hours. During that time Freeman never asked for a lawyer, his father, or a phone. Freeman was not handcuffed and was free to leave. During the questioning of Freeman, Best came to the police station. Alvarez said, “That's when I learned Tyler Best confessed he (Freeman) killed her."

After reading him his rights, police spoke to Best for 30 minutes while holding Freeman in another room. Best was placed in the room Freeman had previously been in so his conversation with police could be videotaped, but authorities say at no time did Best and Freeman cross paths. Alvarez says Best told them that Bella had been killed and her body was in a garbage receptacle.

After this point, Best left and Freeman was brought back to the room and read his rights. Alvarez says Freeman agreed to speak without a lawyer and after speaking for 15 minutes, authorities typed out a written confession. The detective says Freeman pointed out grammatical errors on the confession, which were corrected before he put his initials on the page.

During cross examination, Freeman's attorney questioned why detectives wouldn't read Freeman his rights immediately, since they were likely already treating Bella's disappearance as a crime. Freeman's attorney also pointed out that police did not tell Freeman he was free to go and that because of his age, he wouldn't have known that.

The defense insisted two hours was too long to interview someone who wasn't a "criminal suspect" and pointed out that Freeman's interview was recorded while Bella's parents were not. The defense also stated that Bella's parents were told they could leave, but Freeman never was.

During re-direct, attorneys asked Alvarez about the length of the interview. She explained that though it was long, Freeman was the last one to see Bella alive and he provided information as the interview went along.

At the hearing, Freeman's father, John Freeman, Sr., also took the stand. Freeman Sr. said his son was asleep on the couch when officers arrived at his home the day Bella was killed. Freeman Sr. said he gave officers permission to speak to his son. Freeman Sr. says at one point, up to eight officers were inside his home.

Freeman Sr. gave police permission to take his son to the station, then walked there himself. He testified that he had only been asleep for two hours when police arrived at his home and that he was "in a bit of a fog." Freeman Sr. said he wanted to be with his son and be