Defense Motions for Man Charged with Deserting Baby in Woods
Attorneys for 32 year-old Francis Crowley have asked for certain evidence to be excluded in his case.
Crowley is charged with two felonies, criminal endangerment and assault on a minor in the case of a missing baby that was miraculously found by law enforcement officers last summer in the hills near Lolo Hot Springs Resort.
Deputy County Attorney Brittney Williams is the prosecutor in the case,
“Authorities were summoned to Lolo Hot Springs for a report of an individual who had been trespassing on the property,” said Williams. “They’d also received numerous reports that there was an individual who was in an altercation with another person, and there were also reports that a child was missing and that essentially Mr. Crowley had run his car up the mountainside and a child was missing. Law enforcement responded to help locate the child and after eight or nine hours the child was ultimately found.”
Defense attorneys have filed a motion to suppress certain evidence and Williams is preparing her response for District Judge Karen Townsend.
“Typically, assault on a minor carries a five year prison sentence,” she said. “However, because the child was under 36 months, there’s an enhancement to 10 years in prison. Additionally, the criminal endangerment is currently a 10 year term in prison.”
Crowley remains in the Missoula County Jail on $200,000 bond.
Williams said trial for Crowley is currently scheduled for March 1.