Girl, once accused of killing child, suing Seattle detectives, city

The family of a baby-sitter who was once accused of killing a toddler in her care is suing the city and several Seattle police detectives, claiming they "trampled" her constitutional rights when they interrogated her for 19 hours and ignored her request for an attorney.

The lawsuit seeking unspecified damages claims police acted with "deliberate indifference and conscious shocking action" in their questioning of Ashley Howes, who was 13 in 2005 when she was questioned by police in the death of the child.

The lawsuit claims police interrogated the teenager for hours without advising her of her right to remain silent or allowing her access to her parents or a lawyer. It also alleges detectives continued questioning the girl after she said, "My mom and dad are getting a lawyer" and " My dad said I'm not supposed to talk to anybody unless him or a lawyer's ... present."

"It's shocking because it is a case in which four, maybe more, officers were involved in the 19-hour interogation of a 13-year-old girl and apparently not one of them recognized that she has civil rights," said one of her attorneys, Lincoln Beauregard.

Named in the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court are the city of Seattle and detectives Carl Chilo, Sharon Stevens, Paul Takemoto and Nathan Janes. The case is scheduled to go to trial in May.

Ted Buck, one of several attorneys representing the defendants, said "none of the [girl's] civil rights were violated."

Buck said police initially questioned Howes as a witness and not a potential suspect in the toddler's death.

"Officers were conducting a good-faith investigation into a horrific crime," Buck said, "and they went to extraordinary lengths to protect [the teen's] rights."

It wasn't until Howes had been asked to show officers — in a videotaped interview that became the key evidence against her — how she had tried to soothe the crying toddler by shaking, or jostling, the child, that police labeled her a suspect, Buck said.

At that point, Buck said, she was advised of her rights, taken into custody and booked into a juvenile facility.

Based on her statements to police, prosecutors charged Howes with second-degree murder in the death of 19-month-old Freya Garden at the toddler's home in West Seattle on Jan. 16, 2005.

However, King County Superior Court Judge Mary Roberts later dismissed the case against Howes with prejudice after finding the teen's statements had been coerced by police, were "unlawfully tainted" and would not be admitted in court.

No one has been convicted in the toddler's death.

Howes was babysitting Freya and her 5-year-old sister at their home when the toddler "went limp," according to police and prosecutors. Howes called 911, but medical personnel were unable to save the girl, who died at Harborview Medical Center the following day.

The King County Medical Examiner's Office found that the child had injuries consistent with shaken-baby syndrome.

After the charges against Howes were dismissed, relatives of the toddler said they believed she had gotten away with murder.

Howes' attorney, however, said that the medical examiner was vague about how long before the child's death the fatal injuries could have been inflicted. He said police failed to thoroughly investigate others who had been around the toddler in the days before her death because of their early focus on Howes.

Christine Clarridge: 206-464-8983 or cclarridge@seattletimes.com