TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas — Magen Fieramusca, the woman accused of kidnapping and killing Austin mother Heidi Broussard, has been denied her request to throw out evidence from a warrantless search.
At a court hearing on Thursday, May 12, Judge Selena Alvarenga denied her defense team's request. They claimed that the evidence was illegally obtained when investigators entered the Harris County home without a search warrant. The judge ruled that Fieramusca voluntarily spoke with law enforcement at the home and understood her rights.
Earlier this year, lawyers argued about that evidence for two days. The defense claims pictures and videos taken on that day in 2019 can't be used at trial because there was not yet a search warrant. Prosecutors say law enforcement had the right to enter the home because Broussard's daughter was possibly in danger.
Prosecutors testified that the home wasn't searched until warrants were signed.
After a five-minute recess on Thursday, Judge Selena Alvarenga returned to the bench. She said during the investigation that law enforcement was following various leads, which led them to the home where Fieramusca was found with baby Margo.
Judge Alvarenga said she believes law enforcement had reasonable, probable cause that a crime had been committed when they entered the home in pursuit of investigating a missing persons case. Law enforcement had reason to believe the baby could have been in imminent danger, the judge said. She said from the bench that the warrantless entrance was justified.
A recording played in court during the March hearing indicated Fieramusca was voluntarily speaking with law enforcement at the home, Judge Alvarenga said. The tone appeared to be engagement on a voluntary basis. She found that law enforcement complied with Miranda requirements. She understood what her rights were and knowingly, intentionally and voluntarily spoke with law enforcement.
In December 2019, Broussard and her infant daughter went missing after they were seen dropping off Broussard's son at school. About a week later, police found Broussard's body in the trunk of a car in Harris County. Officers found Broussard's daughter alive inside Fieramusca's home, where the car was parked. Investigators claim Fieramusca pretended the baby was her own.
Investigators later said Fieramusca kidnapped her childhood friend and the baby from their South Austin apartment. She is now facing numerous charges, including kidnapping and capital murder.
Now, after more than two years, Broussard's family just wants some sense of closure and answers from the woman accused of murdering their loved one.
"You came to our house. We loved you. You were welcomed into our home, and we cared for you in our home. What were you thinking to murder our daughter?" asked Tammy Broussard, Heidi Broussard's mother.
Tammy Broussard told KVUE's Houston sister station, KHOU, that she just wants all of this to be over so that her grandchildren aren't still asking what happened.
KVUE's Natalie Haddad and Bryce Newberry will both be in the courtroom Thursday. Follow Haddad on Twitter for updates. Check back on this story for the latest updates.
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