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On hospital comments, the double-murder suspect’s trial may depend

Tiara Maumau and Hayley Cheng, two deputy public defenders, attended a Circuit Court hearing on an application to suppress remarks made by Kendall Ramsey to medical professionals at The Queen’s Medical Center’s emergency room on Tuesday. On March 25, 2020, Ramsey is accused of killing his girlfriend and their 6-month-old child at their Ewa Beach residence.

Feb. 10— The fate of a 24-year-old Ewa Beach man’s future double-homicide trial may depend on the admissibility of potentially damning comments he made while being recorded by police body cameras at the hospital.

The fate of a 24-year-old Ewa Beach man’s future double-homicide trial may depend on the admissibility of potentially damning comments he made while being recorded by police body cameras at the hospital.

Circuit Judge Ronald Johnson heard testimony from several witnesses on Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning regarding the defense’s motion to suppress statements made by Kendall Ramsey to detectives and at the hospital, emergency room after his 6-month-old son and his 23-year-old girlfriend was stabbed to death on March 25, 2020, at their Ewa Beach townhouse. Ramsey was being treated for injuries received in a car accident at the time.

Before determining whether to allow the statements to be used at trial, the court will also see the footage captured by the police body-worn camera and listen to the tape of Ramsey’s interview with investigators at the police station. After listening to the attorneys’ arguments on February 22, the judge is anticipated to make a ruling.

In a written motion, deputy public defender Hayley Cheng contended that statements made by Ramsey at The Queen’s Medical Center were protected by Hawaii Rules of Evidence as confidential patient-physician contact and were therefore not admissible at trial. The hospital employee’s clothes and stethoscope, she added, may have led Ramsey to believe he was a doctor.

Regarding the murders of his infant son and Kayla Holder, Ramsey is accused of first-degree murder, two charges of second-degree murder, and attempted murder for wounding a driver.

In his testimony, police corporal Richard Townsend stated that when he arrived at Queen’s to assist in Ramsey’s security, officer Shawn Borges beckoned for him to enter the trauma room and turn on his camera.

Cheng aired a clip of the tape where Ramsey was heard admitting, “I was inebriated. I simply passed out. I was essentially knocked out, and when I finally came to, I found my son died and I knew I…”

According to Townsend’s written report, Ramsey told a questioning attending nurse that he had been drinking, got into a fight with his girlfriend, stabbed her, and then saw his son dead on the ground.

He admitted throughout his testimony that he was unsure of whether the person was a nurse or a doctor.

Borges stated that he turned on his body-worn camera at 3:11 in the morning.

After a hospital employee wearing scrubs, a stethoscope, and hospital identification started asking medical questions on March 26, 2020, Ramsey started responding.

Ramsey, according to Borges, was sedated while Borges was present and was shackled to the gurney, wearing a neck brace, having his hands in paper bags, and being restrained. He claimed to have been with Ramsey from the time he started receiving treatment at 1:30 in the morning until approximately two hours later when he started making claims.

According to testimony from every officer, they did not request that Ramsey be questioned by medical staff.

Police officers informed Detective Kaimi Mead, who testified in court on Wednesday, that Ramsey had made “an admission of guilt” to medical staff. Borges claimed that it had been captured on his body-worn camera when he and Borges chatted.

According to Mead’s written report, Borges informed him. Ramsey claimed that when the infant started to cry, he was at home with Holder. Ramsey claims that Holder punched and choked him after becoming enraged with him. After admitting his inebriation and getting angry, Ramsey stabbed her and punched her. He then departed.

Before departing, Ramsey claimed to be inebriated but could not believe what he had done.

Police discovered the woman and child’s bodies on the kitchen floor, “bloody, motionless, and seemed to have sustained several stab wounds,” Mead said in a court document. A big kitchen knife that was heavily bloodied and another sizable knife were found.

After departing, Ramsey was engaged in a car accident that left Lynette Rojas hurt. Rojas was the driver of a blue Hyundai that was discovered abandoned on the side of Kunia Road at around 12:05 in the morning on March 26, 2020. In a farm area, Ramsey’s automobile was discovered on its side.

Mead claimed he informed Detective Donn Manzano, the lead detective, via phone after showing him the video captured by Borges’ camera, and Ramsey was apprehended minutes later at 3:25 a.m. on March 26, 2020.

In his written report, Mead stated that Ramsey was “now drugged and not responsive,” to which Cheng pressed him on the matter. Ramsey was “currently sedated,” but Mead claimed he couldn’t remember if that was the case when he arrived.

Ramsey was sedated and taken away from the site of a car accident, according to Mead, who claimed to have been informed of Ramsey’s injuries.

Cheng said in her motion that when investigators questioned Ramsey on March 27, they neglected to properly inform him of his constitutional right to an attorney present.

Manzano was questioned by Deputy Prosecutor Scott Bell over the police’s ability to arrest Ramsey for first-degree murder in the absence of the Queen’s statements.

Yes, he answered.

During the interview, he claimed Ramsey was composed and kind.

Bell presented the video in which Ramsey claimed to have been born in Chicago, to have lived in Hawaii for less than two years, to have served in the Army for two years, and to have been an E3 (private first class) at the time of his discharge.

Ramsey claimed in the video that he needed an attorney but didn’t want one right now because he wanted to convey his story right away.

Manzano affirmed that Ramsey had no prior criminal history.

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