A judge ruled that the five defendants were eligible to stand trial more than four years after they were found on a degraded property in New Mexico containing the bodies of 11 malnourished children and a boy. made a judgment.
But multiple motions filed by defense attorneys last week could slow the process down again.
Taos County sheriffs said they raided a remote property in northern New Mexico in August 2018 and also found a shooting range and firearms.
In a second search days later, authorities reported recovering the decomposing body of a three-year-old boy from an underground tunnel.
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The child, the son of one of five adult suspects, was reported missing by his mother in Georgia, officials said.
All five members of the extended family have been charged with committing crimes against the United States and conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists.
Their lawyers said if the accused were not Muslim, they would not face terrorism-related charges.
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Albuquerque TV station KOB reported that defense attorneys filed a motion last week asking a judge to drop all kidnapping charges.
The group says the dead boy’s father had legal custody of him at the time, so he was not affected by the Kidnapping Act.
They also said the autopsy report listed an official cause of death as unknown.
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In addition, defense attorneys are asking the judge to destroy any evidence the sheriff’s office and the FBI obtained from the premises during the execution of the search warrant.