Defense attorneys for Austin Thompson, the Raleigh teen accused in an October 2022 mass shooting, have filed a motion arguing that any statements he made while recovering in the hospital should be excluded from trial.
Thompson is accused of killing five people in Raleigh's Hedingham neighborhood in October 2022 when he was 15-years-old. He was later found with a gunshot wound to his head in a shed close to six miles away from his home.
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His defense arguing that statements Thompson made about the case during his recovery process, should not be admitted in court because he was "medicated, brain-injured [and] under constant police surveillance."
The document laid out the circumstances in which Thompson allegedly woke up in the hospital demonstrating symptoms of a severe brain injury, including confusion, poor memory, poor focus and impulsivity.
His defense argues that because of these circumstances, the statements that he gave to police were "confused and chaotic." The document stated that officers noted he provided statements and gestures that could be characterized as violent.
His defense added that Thompson was allegedly never read his Miranda or juvenile rights, and that the statements and gestures he gave to police were obtained in violation.
They also argued that because police were stationed at the hospital during his recovery, "any reasonable 15-year-old would have clearly believed they were in custody." And because he was questioned during his recovery from his injuries, his defense said the circumstances could "equate to action reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response."
Therefore, the motion filed by Thompson's defense is asking for all statements and gestures he made to be precluded from being admitted during his trial, adding that they "lack any foundation of reliability when they were made in the context of a 15-year-old child suffering a massive brain injury."
Prosecution of accused Hedingham shooter taking shape, court documents show
Thompson’s trial, after several delays, is set to begin in February, more than three years after the mass shooting. He will not face the death penalty because federal law prohibits the death penalty for people younger than 18 years old at the time of their crimes.
According to court documents, the state plans on arguing that Thompson knowingly shot and killed five people in an aggravated manner and in an effort to avoid being arrested or "effecting an escape from custody."
"The defendant took advantage of a position of trust or confidence, including a domestic relationship, to commit the offense," the state said in the motion.
The first victim of the shooting was Thompson's older brother, James Thompson, 16.
According to an October court filing by Thompson’s lawyers, now 18, plans to argue that a prescription medication contributed to his actions that day, saying the medication led to "voluntary intoxication" and gave Thompson "diminished capacity."
In January, Thompson's lawyers argued, "While he has since been declared competent to stand trial, he is still a brain-injured adolescent."
