Day-care operator's confession legal, McHenry Co. court rules

A McHenry County judge today refused to throw out incriminating statements made by a former Huntley day-care operator accused of severely injuring an infant in her care.

Judge Joseph Condon dismissed the allegations that Eva M. Walton was duped by a federal agent into confessing.

Walton, he said, made the statements after receiving her rights and without any threats or deception that overcame her free will, Condon said in a four-page written ruling issued this morning.

The decision is a blow to Walton's defense as she prepares to face trial Jan. 5 for aggravated battery to a child. The Class X felony alleges Walton, 34, caused more than three dozen rib fractures, a broken leg and other injuries to a 2-month old boy at her home-based day care in May 2005.

She has pleaded not guilty.

Her defense asked Condon last month to throw out her confession, claiming it was the result of trickery by a U.S. Secret Service agent called by Huntley police to perform a polygraph examination.

The examination never took place, the agent testified last month, because Walton broke down and confessed during pretest questioning. She later wrote that she heard "small popping noises" while squeezing the boy too tightly while trying to burp him, authorities said.

Walton's defense claimed the federal agent and police coerced the confession out of her by making her think the incriminating statements were part of routine pretest procedures and convincing her she could lose her son if she did not cooperate.

Condon wrote that he believes Walton was afraid of losing her son when she spoke to investigators. But he rejected claims that those fears, combined with threats and trickery by authorities, caused her to confess.

"In fact, the defendant understood that were she to be charged with the offense she may lose her son," Condon wrote. "Her incentive would prompt her to avoid implicating herself."

Walton's attorney was not available for comment on the decision.