NJ SUPREME COURT RULES VIDEO OF POLICE INTERVIEW VIDEO WITH VINELAND MAN ACCUSED IN DAUGHTER’S DEATH INADMISSIBLE

The New Jersey Supreme Court has ruled that a videotaped police interview with a Vineland man accused of killing his 5-month-old daughter cannot be used as evidence during trial because the accused was not read his rights beforehand. In June of 2012 Terell L. Hubbard was indicted for aggravated manslaughter, endangering the welfare of a child and aggravated assault for the 2008 death of his daughter, Lanaya Hubbard. After calling 911 because his daughter stopped breathing, Hubbard was held by Vineland Police for three hours and questioned for 40-minutes. The Cumberland County Prosecutor’s office attempted to use the videotape as evidence but after two appeals, the Supreme Court ruled that police did not read Hubbard his Miranda rights before arriving at the station or while at the station, and the video cannot be used at trial. Lanaya Hubbard died as a result of a brain stem injury.