Accused child killer Matthew Higa may argue at trial that toddler Cyrus Belt was dead or unconscious before Higa allegedly dropped the child from a freeway overpass into oncoming traffic on Jan. 17, 2008.
Prosecuting Attorney Peter Carlisle said he has been notified of that possible defense theory of the crime.

“It’s inappropriate for me to talk about the defenses raised by my opponent, the strength of it or how I plan to proceed strategically against it, but we have been appraised of it and we will be taking all appropriate steps to be properly prepared when that evidence is presented at trial, if it is presented,” Carlisle said today.
The child’s mother, Nancy Chanco, said shortly after the crime that police told her H-1 Freeway cameras showed that her 23-month-old baby was not moving when he wes thrown from the overpass.
That led her to believe the boy might have been dead or unconscious before he was thrown, Chanco said last year.
But the Medical Examiner’s Office then released a statement that said an autopsy performed on Cyrus did “not show objective evidence to indicate that he was dead prior to being thrown off the pedestrian overpass.”
Carlisle’s comments came following a hearing on defense motions to suppress statements made by Higa immediately after he was arrested by police but before he was charged or warned of his constitutional rights against self-incrimination.
Defense lawyer Randall Oyama argued today that the verbal exchanges between Higa and police amount to improper “custodial interrogation.”
Various officers said from the witness stand that Higa spoke spontaneously, without any prompting or questioning by them.