48 Hours - Blaming the Babysitter

Episode Date: January 11, 2024

Thirteen-year-old Ashley Howes was a mother’s helper for Morningstar Garden, a family friend, over the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend in 2005.  A change of plans put Ashley in sole charge of two children: five-year-old Madeline and 19-month-old Freya.  While Morningstar and her boyfriend Gracian Cline were out, Ashley said she heard a thud from the room where Freya was sleeping. On finding Freya in a fetal position groaning, Ashley called 911, and an ambulance rushed the child to a hospital where, two hours later, she was pronounced dead. “48 Hours" correspondent Harold Dow reports. This classic "48 Hours" episode last aired on 9/9/2006. Watch all-new episodes of “48 Hours” on Saturdays, and stream on demand on Paramount+.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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to a remote base near Joshua Tree National Park. They have to alert the military. And when they do, the NCIS gets involved. From CBS Studios and CBS News, this is 48 Hours NCIS. Listen to 48 Hours NCIS ad-free starting October 29th on Amazon Music. She's a very caring child, very intelligent, has a big heart. I like kids, you know. It's not like you're babysitting them, it's like you're hanging out with them. You can do things like play with dolls and not feel stupid.

On that weekend I was babysitting Madeline and Freya. Her name was Freya. She was 19 months old. As soon as she saw you, she would raise her chubby little arms up to you so she could be swept up into your world. Her smile was intoxicating. She loved sweets, the messier the better. I was supposed to like help out and like babysit only for a couple hours at a time.

When I walked in the house I had Freya in my arms. The only furniture in there was like a futon, which was in the living room. So we just pretty much like put pillows and blankets down. You know, it's like, okay, seems like it's gonna be fun. Is that awful thing true? And we hung out, watched movies, I cooked for them, changed diapers, baths. I don't think I was completely fully capable with the responsibilities that they were giving me.

It felt like they were gone all the time. It just seems like a big old blob, hours and hours and hours. Freya woke up. We heard a noise, a loud, like, thumping noise. I was like, what was that? Madeline and I both, at the same time, went into the bedroom. Freya was in the fetal position with her butt about three inches above the floor.

I picked her up, I brought her out to the futon thing and she just fell over. I look at her and her eyes are just halfway open and I was like, oh my God. And she started making like dinosaur noises. Like, I was freaked out. Iron Medic 1, add to the problem? Um, no, it's just baby. What's the address, ma'am?

What is your address? I don't know. I'm in Seattle right now. Ma'am, ma'am, get a grip. Find a piece of paper with an address on it. I was digging on that entire counter, going from one end to the other and trying to find mail. They didn't leave me anything.

Just look on the paper. People have envelopes with their addresses on it all the time. This has never happened to me before, you know? What's wrong with this baby? Um, envelope, envelope. Um, uh, 5206, Southwest Seattle. baby. In the hospital I was like, what happened? They wouldn't tell me anything. All of a sudden I'm hearing killed and died and dead. And I just look up, I'm like, wait a second. You know she's dead?

She's dead? My name is Ashley House. I'm 13 years old, and I'm being charged with second degree murder. Blaming the babysit. It is almost a rite of passage for many. My name is Felina Niemeyer, and Freya was my great-niece.

What other Freyas are out there, and who is watching them? And who is ultimately responsible for Freya's death? Her babysitter is the obvious answer, yet there is a question because the babysitter is only 13 years old. She's not your typical 13 year old. Ashley, you got a date? She really likes to interact with the younger kids. At 13, Ashley Howes may officially be a way. But she is truly a kid at heart.

She is the last kid. They say that they do mature a little slower. I don't know who they are, but... Ashley is the youngest of John Howes and Mary Rose's three daughters. They live in a small town near Seattle. And if it were up to her dad, Ashley would stay young and innocent forever. I'm very protective of my girls. And I have a no-spend-the-night policy.

They only spend the night with family. So it was very unusual when John Howes agreed to let Ashley spend a weekend in Seattle acting as a mother's helper for family acquaintance Morning Star Garden. I never wanted her to go in the first place. Why'd you let it go? Because my wife thought that it would be good for her to get out of the house. Ashley would be babysitting for Morningstar's two daughters, Madeline, 5, and Freya, 19 months. I just thought she was a nice girl. I knew that she did well in school.

She's smart. She was funny. She was friendly. So, on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend in January 2005, Ashley came to Seattle to babysit while her father and stepmother attended a party with Morning Star and her boyfriend, Gr Grayson Klein. The plan was for the kids to stay at a nearby motel while the parents were at the party.

Ashley's 16-year-old stepsister, Shauna, would be in charge. I was gonna be like watching them, but not like in charge of them. That way I wouldn't have to make any decisions. I just play with all the kids. Yeah. Because that's what I do. Mm-hmm. But plans changed. That way I wouldn't have to make any decisions. I just play with all the kids. Yeah. Because that's what I do.

Mm-hmm. But plans changed. Instead of checking into the motel that Friday night, Morningstar and Gratian took Ashley and the kids to this house that Gratian owned but no longer lived in. What was the house like? It was kind of small. It didn't have much food in it. And then there was no bed in the room that we had.

There was just like a couple blankets down, then my sleeping bag and a little baby sleeping bag. Except for a television and a DVD player, there was very little for Ashley and the girls to do. Which left Ashley in a bind, she says, since Morningstar and Gratian spent most of the day Saturday behind a closed bedroom door. But they would, like, stay in that room all day. They, like, never, ever came out.

It's like they didn't have to go to the bathroom and they didn't eat or anything. They just stayed there, and when they went out, they just walked out. Come Saturday night, the night of the party Ashley's parents were shocked to learn that their daughter was on her own across town with the two small children If Ashley was meant to be Freya and Madeline's primary babysitter Would you have let her go and babysit that weekend?

I would have not. But when Morningstar assured Ashley's parents that their daughter had everything under control... Hello. ...they felt slightly better. And she came up to me and told me, Wow, you have such a beautiful daughter, and she has been so good with these kids.

The day after the party, Sunday, Ashley says she felt overwhelmed. They were there, and then I also felt that I was just doing this on my own. You need somebody checking up on you, making sure that everything's okay, especially when they know the baby's actual behaviors. So what was Freya like? Well, she was kind of whiny, so I didn't know, like, normal behavior for her. So I'm thinking, okay, this is normal, you know. That Sunday afternoon, Ashley and Madeline went to the movies.

While Morningstar and Gratian were with Freya for two hours. When Ashley got back, she gave Freya her bath. She was fussy, yes. I was just like, you know, hey. You know, very gently, just like, hey, look, it's just a bath. You know, there's nothing to be afraid of. It's a special little bath, you know, very gently, just like, hey, look, it's just a bath. You know, there's nothing to be afraid of. It's a special little bath, you know, because she was crying. Morningstar felt Ashley was doing such a great job, she called Ashley's parents

and asked that she be allowed to stay a third night since it was a holiday weekend. You know, I go, shouldn't she come home? I go, isn't a weekend long enough? I just kind of gave in, I go, shouldn't she come home? I go, isn't a weekend long enough? I just kind of gave in, I guess, again. Right after that phone call, Morningstar and Grayson left Ashley alone again. What's going on? Well, she was sleeping. How old is she? How old is your sister?

She's one. Okay, she's one. And she woke up, and I came in, and she was crying, and she was totally soft, and her head just slumped over. She's not dead. She's breathing. Lieutenant Rogers Sargent was the first EMT on the scene. At that point, we didn't really know what had happened. But within hours, police were starting to get a better idea you have no reason to be crying and she just kept screaming so i said freya

stop and i was shaking her trying to stop I'm Erin Moriarty of 48 Hours and of all the cases I've covered this is the one that troubles me most listen to Murder in the Orange Grove the trouble case against Crosley Green early and ad free on Wondery Plus and the Wondery app have you ever wondered

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and the bolder risk-takers who brought them to life. Like, did you know that Super Mario, the best-selling video game character of all time, only exists because Nintendo couldn't get the rights to Popeye? Or Jack, that the idea for the McDonald's Happy Meal first came from a mom in Guatemala? From Pez dispensers to Levi's 501s to Air Jordans, discover the surprising stories of the most viral products. We'll see you next time. idea yet. The story of Freya is one of unforeseen tragedy and sadness. She was like a butterfly that was never completely let out of its cocoon. Her beautiful wings were completely formed, but she was never allowed to fly.

I'm in Seattle right now, and... Ma'am, ma'am, I need to know where you're at. I remember walking into the emergency room waiting area. I remember just going up to Morningstar and putting my arms around her asking her if she had seen Freya yet and she said no that they were working on her. Felina Niemeyer is Freya Garden's aunt. I then remember seeing police officers walking around and I knew that something really terrible had happened.

Morningstar Garden had last seen her 19-month-old asleep before she headed out to the grocery store around 6 p.m. Sunday. She was plugged in on life support and she just had a bunch of tubes and wires coming out of her. She wasn't good. Freya has sustained major head injuries, including a blood clot, retinal hemorrhaging, and blunt force trauma, injuries doctors told police were consistent with being violently shaken. Ashley was our most important witness. She was the only one there at the time that Freya slumped over.

Deputy Chief Clark Kimmerer is second in command for the Seattle Police Department. What happened here? Why are we in this hospital with a 19-month-old that is clinging to life? According to most doctors, the only other way for Freya to have sustained these kinds of head injuries would have been from a high-speed car accident or a fall from a great height,

two things she was not involved in that weekend. So who had hurt Freya? Police now had a crime to solve and a short list of suspects to question. Morningstar Gardner, the mother, Gratian Klein, the boyfriend, and Ashley Howes, the babysitter. The detectives involved were looking at everybody.

What was your first impression of her, Ashley? She's a 13-year-old, that she was under control, and that she was afraid. I was impressed that she had a presence about her. On the other hand, EMT Roger Sargent says Morningstar's reaction caught him by surprise. She didn't really have a reaction. Did she ask you what happened? No. DMT Roger Sargent says Morningstar's reaction caught him by surprise. She didn't really have a reaction. Did she ask you what happened? No.

Did she never even ask what was wrong with her child? No, she did not. Late Sunday night, police brought in all three for questioning. A Detective Stevens interviewed Ashley into the early morning hours before deciding to videotape her statements. And are you aware of the fact that I'm recording you on videotape as we speak? Yes. And that's okay with you? I have your permission to do that? Yes.

Police provided Ashley with a doll to help her recount what happened in the hours leading up to Freya losing consciousness. And I was washing her hair, I was putting her back, and then she started kicking me and screaming, and I said, Freya, stop screaming, it is a bath. And after the bath, was she acting okay? After the bath? Yes. She was just, it seemed like she was like, like, ugh.

Okay. Because she wouldn't really walk. Mm-hmm. She'd just like be, mm. Okay. The more Ashley talked, the worse it got. Okay, what's wrong? You have no reason to be crying.

And she just kept screaming. So I said, Freya! When Ashley stated that she may have shaken the baby and then went into further detail and then ultimately demonstrated it to Sharon Stevens that's when the world changed while Ashley's world was changing her parents John Howes and Mary Rowe were at home sleeping actually received a call that night at nine o'clock from Gratian telling us that Freya was in the hospital and I offered to go over to Seattle and pick up Madeline and Ashley so they can focus on Freya and Gratian

told me that he would call me right back. But that call never came. Instead the next time they heard from anyone wasn't until 4 a.m. Monday morning, and it was the Seattle police detectives to inform them of Ashley's arrest for the assault of Freya Garden. The proof did not point to Morningstar. The proof did not point to Graysham. The proof pointed to Ashley. At that point, Ashley's parents went to catch the ferry to Seattle.

We had no information about anything. I mean, we had nothing. Nobody told us anything. Meanwhile, Morningstar and Gratian went back to the hospital to be with Freya. They'd been working on her for hours and hours, and it did finally come out that they were continuing to work on her to try and make me feel better, and I just told them to stop. 19-month-old Freya Garden was pronounced dead at 5.20 Monday morning, nearly 12 hours after the 911 call from Ashley, who was now a murder suspect. It was definitely a shaken baby. She had pressure on the brain and all that stuff from the shaking. That stuff definitely would kill her.

She's dead? She's dead. She died this morning, early this morning, from the brain. She's from the brain. She's in the case. And I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, but she did die. She's dead. She's dead.

She is dead. Sorry. What did you think when you heard that she died? Then I just felt like I was stabbed. I just held my breath and I was like... I didn't know what I was thinking. I was, I started crying. I, I just couldn't speak.

I just felt, went down like something really heavy just dropped on me. Like, and just having to hear that, that somebody died in your care is just terrible. It's like somebody's trying to hit you with a hammer and they're hitting you and you're getting the wind knocked out of you while being stabbed repeatedly in the heart. You just... Dr. Brian Johnston is the chief of pediatrics at Harborview Medical Center.

I think this was an inflicted injury. is the chief of pediatrics at Harborview Medical Center. I think this was an inflicted injury. In severe or fatal shaken baby cases, the symptoms would be apparent immediately after the shaking. They have difficulty breathing. They lose consciousness. He did not treat Freya that night, but has studied shaken baby cases.

Would a 100-pound child be able to create enough force to kill a 26-pound baby? A 100-pound child is the size of many average-sized grown women, and unfortunately we know that people that size are capable of inflicting these injuries on children. But Ashley insists she never hurt Freya, although the toddler did take a few falls that weekend while in her care.

I know that I had nothing to do with killing her at all, not even murder too. I didn't accidentally do anything. I didn't purposely do anything. I wasn't shaking her upside down. I wasn't shaking her hard at all. I was just trying to get her to calm down and to let her have a good weekend along with me too. At the end of that horrible January weekend, two things were certain.

Freya's short life was over and 13-year-old Ashley's would never be the same. Out. Out. Out. Out. Out. Out. Out. Out. Out. Out. Out.

Out. Out. Out. Out. Out. Out. Out. Out.

Out. Out. Out. Out. Out. Out. Out. Out. Out. Out. Her life taken by her babysitter in an act of complete and uncontrollable rage. It is easy to mistake 13-year-old Ashley Howes for a typical teenager in the outskirts of Seattle, Washington.

This is my room. Okay, this is your room, huh, Ashley? You got a lot of stuff in here. But what many of her neighbors don't know is this energetic teen... Don't mix them up. ...is under house arrest for murder. So you get home by 2.35, and you're wearing an ankle bracelet. Yeah.

Show it to us. And actually, it's giving me a rash, and it's getting too small. If she isn't at school, she's at home. Now, exactly how far can you go with that monitor on your ankle? To here. That's as far as you can go? Yep. Ashley is being monitored 24 hours a day.

In other words, you can't go on the grass? Nope. Part of the agreement hammered out to allow her to remain free. So that means you can't join them? Nope. While awaiting trial in the death of 19-month-old Freya Garden. As close as you get.

Yep. They think you're guilty, and that's why they want you to put this on. Yeah. Guilty of what? I don't know, of doing something to hurt a kid, a baby that died. And I didn't have any part in hurting her at all.

What King County prosecutors say, 13-year-old Ashley Howes is a killer. This is a child homicide case, a case in which we have filed charges of murder in the second degree. Assistant Chief Deputy Prosecutor Kathy Van Olst. This is Kathy. We have probable cause to believe that she in fact did kill Freya.

According to the state, the evidence they need for a conviction comes directly from Ashley. You have no reason to be crying. Those statements are important to us not only because it tells us what Ashley did and when she did it, but also provides critical information that the medical examiner was going to rely on with regard to the timing of the death. It wasn't really hard and Madeline was with me right there. This is astounding to me that they charged it.

There is no evidence. Defense attorney Brian Hirschman says detectives coerced Ashley's statements when they questioned her without a parent or lawyer present. Everybody loses their temper every now and then. When you have four professionals, each of whom have more experience than her years on earth, who's going to win that battle? So, before her trial begins, Ashley's attorney is asking a judge to throw out all of the statements she gave to police. But it won't be easy.

all of the statements she gave to police. But it won't be easy. In Washington state, law enforcement can legally question anyone 13 years of age without a parent or an attorney present. And police claim Ashley knowingly and willingly waived her rights. It's sad to be called things that you're not. I've been called a baby killer. I've been called a baby strangler, I've been called

a bad babysitter. If Ashley is found guilty, she could go to prison until she's 21. A thought that is on everyone's mind as they head to court. I've never had a murder case where I went into it feeling like I've got them where I want them. And this case is no exception. The courtroom's not a friendly environment. The state is ready to proceed. We're ready to go to trial. All rise.

Eight months after Freya Garden's death, Judge Mary Roberts is presiding over a pretrial hearing. Good morning. Please be seated. The prosecutors need to prove the detectives who questioned Ashley We deal with bad people all the time. And you are not. did nothing wrong and followed the letter of the law. Raise your right hand, please. Detective Carl Shiloh C-H-I-L-O interviewed Ashley that Sunday night while Freya was at the hospital.

She said she had shaken her when she cried for no reason. And she had shaken her a second time when she cried when splashing water in the bathtub. Suspicions grew when Ashley was given a pen and paper and she wrote this letter. It said in part, "'She does not deserve this, I do. "'I should have been more gentle with Freya. "'She did nothing for this, all because of me. "'I am going to just totally hate myself for this.'"

After several hours of questioning, detectives were convinced Ashley had killed Freya. It was approximately 3 a.m. Monday morning when they rolled the videotape. I didn't realize that shaking her like this could have done anything. I think that what they realized from the videotape statement was that Ashley was in fact implicating herself as a suspect in this case. It was only then that detectives read Ashley her Miranda rights. She was arrested and sent to the juvenile detention center. Early that Monday morning, her father John

was allowed to see her. And when you saw her in that, what did you think? I went into tears. Howes had no idea what his daughter had told police, but he gave her strict instructions not to say anything more. She was sitting on my lap, and I told her, definitely do not talk to anybody until I get a lawyer. But after John Howes left, Ashley was brought back to the police station,

where she was interviewed by homicide detectives Nathan Janes and Paul Takamoto. Did she ever tell you that she did not want to talk to you? No. Did she ever ask for a lawyer? No. Did she ever ask for a parent? No. Detective Janes even had Ashley read over her rights before he began questioning her.

Why is that? Because I wanted to make sure she did understand that she did not have to talk to us and what these rights actually mean. Did the respondent indicate in any way to you that she understood her rights? Yes. But under cross-examination, he had a different story. Was she able to explain the rights to you? No, not right that moment, no. Detective James says,

do you understand those rights? Can you explain them to me? And she just sat there with this blank look on her face. You said to Ashley... Okay, you still want to talk to us then? It's up to you. Her response was... My dad said, if I'm supposed to talk to anybody,

it was him or a lawyer. A lawyer is present. Hirschman says Ashley was invoking her right to remain silent, but the detectives kept on pushing her. And then you say, okay, it's not like we're trying to railroad you or anything like that. She says, I'm supposed to wait. I'm supposed to wait. Do you recall that? Yep, that's correct.

They did wait for about an hour. And it was during that break that John Howes got a hold of Detective Jaynes on the phone. He said, well, we're doing more questioning. Is that alright? I said, well, no, it's not alright. And he's all, well, John, to tell you the truth, we're really looking at the parents. Hey, I'm sorry this took so long. I was just talking to your dad. So John agreed to let his daughter talk.

As long as you don't ask her any questions that have, you know, to do with her. But detectives talked about a lot more than Morningstar and Gratian. How many times did you and Gratian. How many times did you shake Freya? Twice. Okay. And after being detained for more than 19 hours,

they say there were no more questions about who killed Freya. Hot shot Australian attorney Nicola Gaba was born into legal royalty. Her specialty? Representing some of the city's most infamous gangland criminals. However, while Nicola held the underworld's darkest secrets, the most dangerous secret was her own. She's going to all the major groups within Melbourne's underworld, and she's informing on them all. I'm Marsha Clark, host of the new podcast, Informants Lawyer X. In my long career in criminal justice as a prosecutor and defense attorney, I've seen some crazy cases, and this one belongs right at the top of the list.

She was addicted to the game she had created. She just didn't know how to stop. Now, through dramatic interviews and access, I'll reveal the truth behind one of the world's most shocking legal scandals. Listen to Informant's Lawyer X exclusively on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, and listen to more Exhibit C true crime shows early and ad-free right now. As a kid growing up in Chicago, there was one horror movie I was too scared to watch. It was called Candyman. The scary cult classic was set in the Chicago housing project.

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Literally shocked. And we'll look at what the story tells us about injustice in America. If you really believed in tough on crime, then you wouldn't make it easy to crawl into medicine cabinets and kill our women. Listen to Candyman, the true story behind the bathroom mirror murder, early and ad-free on Wondery Plus and the Wondery app. This is the most emotional case I've had in memory. I have not slept well.

I find myself trying to be with my family, and I'm pacing. My mind is a thousand miles off. This is horrible. My mind is a thousand miles off. This is horrible. In his 20 years as a defense attorney, Brian Hirschman says he's never defended anyone like 13-year-old Ashley Howes. I'm going to hold the state to its burden because my client hasn't confessed anything. My client's innocent. He believes detectives manipulated Ashley into saying she shook Freya. Ashley, for the record, did you ever shake Freya? No. And I said, okay, what's wrong? Ashley says her demonstration in the police video does not show shaking, but rather... It was a vibrating, wiggling, rocking,

and a comforting mode situation. As the pretrial hearing continues, Hirschman points out that detectives are the ones who suggested the word shake. Detective, would you agree or disagree with the proposition that until you told Ashley that the doctors said this child has been shaken, she never brought up the topic of shaking.

That's right. Ashley repeatedly said she wiggled the child. The testimony from the detectives was she didn't use the word shake, they did. And that's what Hirschman says Ashley wrote in that letter during her interrogation. Saturday I grabbed her and, well, not necessarily shook her, but wiggled her for about three, four, maybe five seconds at the most. The defense says almost 19 hours after she was brought in for questioning, the detectives

went after Ashley during her weakest moment, insisting she had killed Freya. She's dead? She's dead. Sorry to tell you this way, I actually forgot that you didn't know for a second. The only thing that can cause these injuries is the shaking. That's it. Did you just lose your temper for a second or something? I didn't lose my temper, I know that. Okay, well I know you shook her because everything you've told me is no one else could have.

That's the problem. If you keep being told something over and over and over, and told the details of what they want you to say, then you start thinking of it. I know I didn't do anything, but being pressured is also difficult to deal with. So it's kind of hard, you know, when a professional is telling you you did something. My client, who'd been up for a day and a half being interrogated, finally buckled. Hirschman says that in the detective's rush to judgment, they failed to pursue the other suspects. Do you think Gratian and Morningstar were investigated thoroughly in this case? No, no, absolutely not. They were nervous and, what was the other word, evasive. Nervous and evasive were the words used by one of the officers.

After their initial statements, it took investigators eight days to bring Morningstar and Gratian back in for questioning. First of all, Morningstar would not get on the phone with me at all. Gratian kept putting off having any interviews done with them. Would it have been beneficial to this investigation to get to Gratian and Morningstar before a week had passed? Yes. There were obvious signs of suspicious activities. Cocaine and marijuana were found in Gratian and Morningstar's bedroom. When they said to you that the drugs weren't theirs, did they look like they were telling the truth, best you could tell?

Well, I think they were lying to me but I couldn't prove it there was also a receipt that shows the couple was buying beer malt liquor and baking soda that weekend would you please tell her honor why baking soda can be significant to a scene where cocaine is found cocaine is normally cut with baking soda. But no drug charges were ever filed. Were you and Grayson using crack cocaine that weekend? Not that I know of. I can only, I mean, I can really only speak for myself.

I can't say. I know that he wasn't on drugs. They made their choice. There were three people they could have pointed a finger at, and they chose my client. Brian Hirschman says he was prepared to present some critical information he uncovered during his own investigation. There was a lot of reason to look at Morningstar. Morningstar had a child die about 10 or 11 years ago under suspicious circumstances. Can you tell us what happened? He died of crib death.

When the autopsy happened, I thought maybe they would come up with some kind of concrete facts that said there was a genetic deficiency or something like that, but just nothing. Hirschman also found Child Protective Services had investigated Morningstar on numerous occasions. Can you address for us the CPS record? It was just harassment. I mean, and the number of times that they've gotten these crank calls, it's like they've come over to my house a bazillion times

and all they ever see is great stuff. Morningstar says those calls to CPS began during a custody battle with Madeline's father. Everywhere that I go, I always get compliments on my parenting. I mean, I'm almost patient to a flaw. And then there is Morningstar's boyfriend, Gratian Klein, who declined to talk to 48 Hours.

His criminal history includes convictions for drug possession and harassment. It didn't affect my comfort level of him interacting with my kids because he's just a really kind, loving person. I have to ask you, did you have anything to do with Freya's death? No. Did Gratian have anything to do with Freya's death? No. Did Gratian have anything to do with Freya's death? No.

After eight days of pretrial testimony... Good morning. Please be seated. ...the judge is ready to make her decision. And she has some harsh words for the detectives. Virtually all of the questioning was aimed at Ms. Howe's conduct, not at the conduct of the other suspects. Detective Stevens' questioning can only fairly be characterized as an interrogation. Detective Child's nervous and defensive demeanor was such that this court found his testimony almost completely without credibility. Ms. Howe was unable to explain her rights back to Detective Janes when he asked

her to do so, and when asked whether she wanted to go ahead regardless, she said, quote, I'm supposed to wait, unquote. These statements from a 13-year-old in the circumstances of this case are a clear invocation of her right to remain silent and her right to counsel. The videotaped statement is not admissible. None of Ashley's videotaped statements can be used at her trial. Freya's family is devastated. The truth is being suppressed. The fact that someone is going to be possibly found not guilty, not because they're not

guilty but because of a technicality, is pretty upsetting. But the trial is still going forward, and Ashley faces the possibility of spending the next eight years of her life behind bars. In the Pacific Ocean, halfway between Peru and New Zealand, lies a tiny volcanic island. It's a little-known British territory called Pitcairn, and it harboured a deep, dark scandal. There wouldn't be a girl on Pitcairn

once they reached the age of 10 that would still have heard it. It just happens to all of us. I'm journalist Luke Jones, and for almost two years, I've been investigating a shocking story that has left deep scars on generations of women and girls from Pitcairn. When there's nobody watching, nobody going to report it, people will get away with what they can get away with. In the Pitcairn Trials, I'll be uncovering a story of abuse

and the fight for justice that has brought a unique, lonely Pacific island to the brink of extinction. Listen to the Pitcairn Trials exclusively on Wondery+. Join Wondery in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Judge Robert ruled yesterday half the statements the teenager had given Seattle police were not admissible in court. Day one of the trial. After getting those police videos thrown out, Attorney Brian Hirschman's job now is to keep Ashley out of prison.

I'm not going to take the rep for something I didn't do, and the person that did it should go down for it and not me. All rise. Good morning. Please be seated. Go ahead when you're ready, Ms. Herman. In her opening statements, prosecutor Christine Herman says Ashley shook Freya to death. Freya Garden died due to the respondent's assaulted behavior of her.

That's why we're here. The defense says there are other explanations. What the court is going to find at its conclusion is that the state has nowhere near the evidence sufficient to establish proof beyond reasonable doubt. But before calling their first witness, the prosecution calls for an unexpected recess. I am asking the court court this time for a recess for the rest of the day. Right now the prosecutors are upstairs making some very difficult decisions. The next day, a stunning announcement. We are unable to proceed. I will be asking the court to dismiss.

I didn't do that. Without those videos, prosecutors say they no longer had a timeline to prove that Freya was fatally injured in Ashley's care. The timeline was so critical because most experts say babies that are shaken show symptoms almost immediately. It was critical evidence in that the statements that Ashley made about when things happened and what she did and what the baby's reactions were, were findings that the medical examiner could then use to state an opinion as to when the baby was injured and when the baby was fine. Well, I will grant the motion to dismiss.

The case is dismissed this is the little girl that everyone should be talking about and the police department and judges need to realize that sometimes people that play a role in murders don't look like monsters. Sometimes they're teenagers, and they have blue eyes and blonde hair, and they seem innocent. We had two videotaped confessions. And they threw everything out. And she threw them out. I don't want this little girl to live the rest of her life with people saying she got off on a technicality.

She didn't. She's innocent. I'm just happy that we can go on and just move through the next stage of what life has to to bring that next stage begins with the removal of ashley's monitoring bracelet i get to live i'm gonna go out and i get to go places with my parents and i don't have to stay in my house and do nothing. Burnt fly. Yes. All right. So you're done. You're free. Yes, I am. Let's go. So what really happened to Freya?

If Ashley didn't kill Freya, who did? I can't say that, and I won't say that. I can only tell you if this was an intentional act, there were only one of three people who could have done it. Ashley, mom, and mom's boyfriend. Police and prosecutors say they thoroughly investigated Morningstar and Gratian and are adamant the couple is innocent.

When Ashley laid out the circumstances of what occurred that night. It pretty much definitively excluded the possibility that either Morning Star or Gratian were the cause of the trauma that led to the death of Freya. Is that to say that the Seattle Police Department believes to this day that Ashley Howes is responsible for the death of Freya Garden? We have no information, no basis to believe anything different at this time. Happy birthday, dear Ashley. A year has passed since Freya's death.

But 14-year-old Ashley Howes says she is never far from her thoughts. I talked to her. I have had dreams. I ask her to try to show me in any way what happened to her. I tell her I miss her. And now all sides are left to struggle with the reality that no one is being held responsible for Freya's death. that no one is being held responsible for Freya's death. Every parent that hires a babysitter needs to make sure, is the babysitter responsible? The parents of the babysitter also need to be responsible.

We need to protect each other. I wish that had happened for Freya. I often think about the things that Freya will miss, the joys in life that will escape her. The world would never know how many lives she would have touched. In 2013, Ashley Howes received a $215,000 settlement in a suit she filed against the city of Seattle and four detectives who questioned her during the investigation.