GALLATIN, Tenn. – A Sumner County judge has refused to recuse himself in the case against a woman accused of killing her newborn twins.
Lindsey Lowe's attorney John Pellegrin argued Tuesday afternoon that Judge Dee David Gay should
recuse himself from the case. Pellegrin said Judge Gay showed bias when he denied a defense motion to supress an incriminating statement Lowe gave
police.
Judge Gay denied the request saying there was no objective basis for him to recuse himself. He told the defense they are free to appeal his decision, but he remains the trial judge.
"It would be bad precedent to allow a recusal
when the defense disagrees with the way a judge addresses a ruling; extremely bad precedent," Judge Gay said in court.
Lowe was released on bond shortly after her arrest last year. Her trial date is scheduled for March 11, 2013.
In December, Judge Gay ruled for the second time that Lowe's confession to police following her arrest in September 2011 was admissible during her upcoming trial. Lowe allegedly made a statement to police that implicated herself in the deaths of her newborn twins.
In late November, the judge said he would make his decision on a change of venue request when jury selection begins. Her attorneys have asked for the trial to be moved out of Middle Tennessee because they believe Lowe would not receive a fair trial in the county because of all the media attention the case has received.
In 2011, police testified that Lowe not only admitted to killing her newborn twins, but she explained how she did it. According to an affidavit, Lowe hid her pregnancy from her family and may have never visited a doctor.
In the confession, police said Lowe smothered the infants after they were born in a toilet in her parents' home on September 12, 2011. When the babies began to cry, police testified that Lowe said she put her hands over their mouth and kept it there until they died.
Her father discovered one of the babies in a laundry basket two days later and called 911.
In a preliminary hearing in 2011, a detective testified that the father of the newborn twins was not Lowe's fiance, but rather a man she had an affair with in December 2010 and January 2011.
Lowe has pleaded not guilty in the murders. The district attorney announced in November that they would not seek the death penalty.
Each count of murder carries the possibility of a life sentence.
Past Stories:
- Dec. 11, 2012: Judge Again Rules Lindsey Lowe's Confession Admissible
- Nov. 30, 2012: Lindsey Lowe's Attorneys Ask For Change Of Venue For Trial
- May 17, 2012: Trial Date Set For Woman Accused Of Killing Twins
- Nov. 18, 2011: Attorney For Lindsey Lowe Enters Not Guilty Plea
- Nov. 10, 2011: State Will Not Seek Death Penalty Against Lindsey Lowe
- Nov. 4, 2011: Lindsey Lowe Remains On Bond After Valium Use
- Oct. 25, 2011: Lindsey Lowe Case Bound Over For Grand Jury
- Sep. 27, 2011: Private Funeral Held Sunday For Newborn Twins
- Sep. 22, 2011: Vigil For Family Of Mom Accused Of Killing Newborns
- Sep. 21, 2011: Help Sought For Woman Charged With Killing Twins
- Sep. 20, 2011: Woman Accused Of Killing Twins Released On Bond
- Sep. 19, 2011: Bond Set For Mother Accused Of Killing Infant Twins
- Sep. 17, 2011: DA Fights to Keep Mother of Dead Twins in Jail
- Sep. 15, 2011: Police: Mother Admitted To Killing Twin Newborn Boys
- Sep. 14, 2011: Mother Charged After Newborn Twins Found Dead In Home
Judge Dee Gay
