Huntley daycare worker's confession 'mirrors' agent's notes

Attorneys for a Huntley woman accused of severely injuring an infant in her care tried to show Friday that a U.S. Secret Service agent tricked their client into a confession.

Secret Service Agent Bradley Beeler testified Thursday that Eva Walton, 34, confessed to him while he was preparing her for a lie-detector test on May 26, 2005.

According to Beeler's testimony, Walton broke down and said, "I hurt that baby," telling Beeler she handled the child roughly while trying unsuccessfully to burp him.

Prosecutors allege Walton abused the baby while the 10-week-old infant was in Walton's home-based day care, leaving the boy with a fractured skull, at least 19 broken ribs, a burned tongue and a broken leg.

Walton faces six to 10 years in prison if she is found guilty of aggravated battery to a child.

Under defense questioning, Beeler admitted Friday he left his notes - which documented Walton's alleged confession - in the room while Beeler left to speak with Huntley police and while Walton prepared a written statement.

Beeler did not dispute that Walton's written account closely mirrored Beeler's handwritten notes but said the close similarity was unremarkable.

"She obviously used (my notes) to make (her statement), and that does not surprise me. Those are her exact words," Beeler said. "A written confession and a verbal confession are going to mirror each other ... very much so."

When questioned by prosecutors, Beeler said he did not tell Walton to use his notes as a basis for her written statement. He also read from the two accounts to show places where they diverged.

Answering questions posed by Walton's attorneys, Beeler also admitted he did not ask questions after Walton's alleged confession that could have corroborated her account and said he had been trained in a methodology that teaches "deceit and trickery" as a tool to elicit a confession.

But Beeler said he was only permitted to use deceit in an interrogation - not in an interview, like the one he conducted with Walton.

The prosecution rested Friday, and the defense began mounting its case in the afternoon. The trial is scheduled to continue Monday, when Walton herself may take the stand in her defense.