WMC-TV: News, Weather, Traffic, Radar, and Sports for Memphis, TN; WMCTV.com | Lawyer: Suspect in motel killing wrongly detained
Member Center:
Associated Press - November 20, 2009 9:05 AM ET
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The lawyer for a former Knox County motel employee charged in the 2008 murder of a young Alabama woman says he was illegally detained.
Police have said Valentino Vasquez Miranda used a master key to enter the room of 21-year-old Jennifer Lee Hampton, a native of Waterloo, Ala., at the Days Inn in 2008. She was beaten, raped and strangled and her nude body was found in a lake several days later.
Defense lawyer Joe Fanduzz asked a judge on Thursday to throw out his statement to police following his arrest.
The Knoxville News Sentinel reported that police initially charged him with forgery, based on a fake Social Security card.
Information from: The Knoxville News Sentinel, http://www.knoxnews.com
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
