Accused child-murderer Cody Franciscovich had his trial date, which was scheduled for February, indefinitely postponed following a pre-trial hearing last Friday to give his lawyers time to submit a written argument as to why some of the evidence collected by police against him should be suppressed.
The hearing last Friday, which included testimony of multiple state troopers involved in the case, was so that the defense could examine the legality and circumstance of the evidence against Franciscovich.
Due to the length of his interrogation and other factors, Judge Gerald Keene decided to reserve his judgment and instead give defense lawyers two weeks to submit a written argument and then the prosecution two weeks after that to respond.
During the hearing it was established that Franciscovich stated that he was high on acid at the time of his arrest and made multiple unprompted self-incriminating statements.
Steven Ayers, trooper for the New York State Police, testified that he heard Franciscovich say, “This is worse than death. I deserve death, this is worse than death,” and “I wasn’t even trying to be a bad person.”
Police originally arrested Franciscovich, 26, after Ruby’s mother alerted Tioga County Emergency Services officials on June 9, 2019 to check on their welfare. The call was placed from the Deep Well Motel located on Route 17C where the family had been staying for the previous few months while Franciscovich performed odd jobs.
Shortly after taking the call from Ruby’s mother, state police then received a separate report of a man who was naked near the Owego Nazarene Church. When police responded to that call they found Franciscovich naked.
State Trooper Tim Kressly testified that he took the complaint from Ruby’s mother while also being one of two troopers first on the scene after taking the report of a naked man. Once the naked man identified himself as Franciscovich, Kressly said that he started asking him where his daughter was.
Kressly testified that Franciscovich told him that after leaving the Deep Well Motel with his daughter he eventually took off both their clothes, proceeded to the cemetery where he then threw his daughter to ground, and then threw her down an embankment towards a pond where he left her “swimming underwater.”
Following Franciscovich telling him that he left his eight-month-old daughter in a body of water, Kressly said that he handcuffed Franciscovich and placed him in custody; he was assisted by trooper Phil Bambino.
Using information given to him by Franciscovich, Kressly stated that he then located Ruby’s body while Bambino remained with the still naked Franciscovich. Despite being placed under arrest, it was revealed during the hearing that Franciscovich was not mirandized by either Bambino or Kressly, and wasn’t until he was interviewed hours later by Investigator Randy Smith, a New York State Trooper.
Despite stating that he was high on acid and having difficulty coming down, a fact which multiple troopers corroborated during the hearing, all troopers who interacted with Franciscovich the day of his arrest testified they smelled no alcohol on him, saw no signs of intoxication, and found Franciscovich to be coherent.
During the hearing, Franciscovich’s public defenders, George Awad and Thomas Cline, stated that they expected the case to not be settled and instead proceed to a jury trial.
Tioga County Prosecutor Kirk Martin said after the hearing that the start date of Franciscovich’s trial is now undetermined.
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