Some good parenting skills here. . . . the last paragraph is interesting. . . .
October 21, 2004) — CANANDAIGUA — After the trial of Brian DeBeer was delayed for nearly an hour Wednesday morning to prepare for the testimony of admitted child killer Stacy DeBeer, Brian DeBeer's defense lawyer decided not to call her as a witness.
Before defense lawyer Michael Jones said he had decided not to call her, Ontario County Court Judge Craig Doran had approved the request to allow Robert Zimmerman, her court-appointed lawyer, to accompany her at the witness stand during testimony because Doran said she had filed "a notice of appeal" of her recent conviction of murder.
Stacy DeBeer pleaded guilty in July to two counts of murder in the deaths of two infants she gave birth to at home and killed. She is serving a 30-years-to-life sentence.
Brian DeBeer was charged with a felony count of hindering prosecution, accused of helping her conceal the remains of one of the dead babies in a concrete-filled pail in 1998.
On the witness stand Wednesday, Brian DeBeer tearfully described the events leading up to the couple's decision to conceal the death of the child in 1998.
DeBeer said his wife told him that the child had been stillborn. He also said that no other family members knew about the pregnancy and, fearing "a hassle" over the incident from irate family members, they decided to dispose of the remains without consulting authorities.
DeBeer attempted while being questioned by his own lawyer to portray himself as an innocent victim and his wife as a person incapable of murder.
"She's the best mother in the world," he said. "In my eyes, she's the best mother in the world."
"We wanted to do the best that we could considering the circumstances," DeBeer said, explaining that he and his wife made a decision to dispose of the child's body in an effort to avoid the wrath of her mother and other family members.
But Ontario County Assistant District Attorney James Ritts cross-examined DeBeer closely on not reporting the death and entombing the dead child in a pail of concrete.
DeBeer said that he has filed a lawsuit seeking unspecified monetary damages from Ontario County for burying the two children without consulting him or obtaining his consent.
DeBeer — who said he wanted to "properly bury" the child who died in 1998 but made no effort to do so during the six years it was in a plastic bucket of concrete — said he decided to sue the county because burying the children without his consent was a violation of his parental rights.
