Lawyers for a League City man accused of murdering his former wife want a Galveston County judge to suppress two recorded statements their client gave to police.
Shaun Philip Hardy is charged with the murder of Anne-Christine Johnson, his former wife. League City Police arrested Hardy Dec. 30, 2016, after finding Johnson’s body in his garage. He was charged with murder and with tampering with her body.
Police questioned Hardy after his arrest and recorded two statements from him, one in his backyard and another at the League City Police Department, according to a motion to suppress filed in the Galveston County 212th District Court.
Defense attorneys Dick DeGuerin and Todd Ward want those statements kept out of Hardy’s trial scheduled to start in February.
The lawyers claim that Hardy asked several times if he could call his lawyer, but police did not allow him to use his cellphone, which investigators had seized, according to the motion to suppress.
An arrest affidavit from Dec. 31, 2016, stated that Hardy admitted killing Johnson and gave some details to police about how it happened.
The motion to suppress, which was filed Oct. 23, includes some excerpted comments that Hardy made to police asking to have his lawyer present and responses from police.
The excerpted police comments acknowledged that Hardy had a right to have his attorney present, according to the motion.
The motion does not include the full transcription of either interrogation, but it does describe the first interrogation as lasting 41 minutes.
DeGuerin and Ward said the police’s mental badgering led to Hardy breaking down and answering questions, according to the motion.
The attorney that Hardy was asking to call Dec. 30, 2016, was Dan Krieger, according to the motion.
Judge Patricia Grady of the 212th District Court will hear arguments on the motion to suppress the recorded statements Jan. 24.
Hardy’s trial is scheduled to begin Feb. 26, 2018, according to court records. He is free on bond, and the court requires that he wear an ankle monitor.
Valerie Wells: 409-683-5246; valerie.wells@galvnews.com
