Agent: Day-care operator admitted shaking, hurting infant

A Huntley day-care provider bowed her head and sobbed as she admitted three years ago to shaking an infant so severely he suffered more than three dozen rib fractures, a U.S. Secret Service agent testified Tuesday as a hearing got underway on whether the confession was legal.

Lawyers for Eva Walton are hoping to persuade a judge throw out the confession before her case goes to trial, arguing that the Huntley woman was duped into making incriminating statements under the guise of preparation for lie-detector test.

Walton, 34, faces a charge of aggravated battery to a child alleging she caused the rib fractures, along with a broken leg and burned tongue, to a 2 -month-old boy at her home-based day-care center in May 2005.

About two weeks after the boy suffered the injuries, Walton agreed to let Secret Service Special Agent Brad Beeler put her through a polygraph exam to determine whether she was responsible. Beeler testified Tuesday that he was conducting a "pre-interview" ahead of the actual exam when Walton offered a confession.

"She was in what I call a tripod position, with her head down, and she started crying," Beeler said. "After about 15-30 seconds, she looked up and said, 'I hurt that child.'"

In a subsequent written confession, Walton states that she heard "small popping noises" when she squeezed the boy's chest too tightly and shook him while trying to get him to burp. Because of the statements, the lie-detector test never was given.

Under cross examination by Walton's attorney, Beeler admitted that Walton's written statement is, in key passages, extremely similar to interview notes he said he left with her while she was writing.

"If you compare the written statement, it's about 99 percent, word-for-word, of your notes, correct?" defense attorney Mark Gummerson asked.

"Correct," Beeler said.

The hearing is scheduled to run through Thursday.