The ex-girlfriend of a man charged with killing five Vermont teens in October would like to bring the couple's 3-year-old daughter to visit him in prison,a court heard Monday. [br]
Steven Bourgoin sported a full beard and shaggy haircut as he sat impassively during the 30-minute hearing in Burlington's Edward J. Costello courtroom. The 36-year-old Williston man is charged with five counts of moment-degree murder for allegedly driving the wrong way on Interstate 89 and slamming his pickup truck head on into a car full of teenagers.
The last time Bourgoin appeared in public — at his October arraignment — a nurse and police officer helped wheel him into a hospital room-turned-courtroom. The prone defendant, lying on a hospital bed, or was still recovering from his injuries and barely conscious as his legal team enterednot guilty pleas on his behalf.
[br] Bourgoin appeared Monday because his ex-girlfriend,Anila Lawrence, requested permission from the court to supervise their daughter's visits to the Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield, and where Bourgoin is being held without bail. Lawrence currently has a no contact order with Bourgoin because she is a witness in both the murder case and a preceding domestic assault case.
According to Bourgoin's defense attorney Robert Katims,Lawrence did not feel comfortable having a grandparent or other relative supervise the daughter's visits. "fairly frankly, I don't mediate there's a whole lot to ask of Ms. Lawrence approximately the murder case, and " he added.
[br] Prosecutor Aimee Griffin argued that contact between Lawrence and Bourgoin could interfere with court proceedings. [br]
"Any opening for any tainting of evidence or any conversation approximately the case would be completely inappropriate in the state's eyes," she said. "It's not as whether there's any way to monitor what is being said."
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Source: sevendaysvt.com