Judge rules Bend woman’s killing admission can stand

After hearing testimony on a rare prosecution request, a Deschutes County judge ruled Tuesday that a Bend woman’s admission to a social worker of fatally smothering her 92-year-old grandmother is admissible in court, and imposed a murder charge.

Circuit Judge Beth Bagley set a May 5th plea hearing for Angela Judd, 45, who allegedly used a pillow and her body to smother her 92-year-old grandmother on Dec. 31.

“The crime of murder occured, and the defendant was the person that committed that crime,” Bagley said in a ruling for prosecutors and against Judd’s defense attorney, who claimed the comments were covered under patient confidentiality laws.

“Obviously the state is pleased with the decision,” Hummel said. “We have said all along that Angela Judd should be held accountable for what she did to her grandmother.”

Wendy Jones, the counselor Judd spoke to, concluded her testimony Tuesday morning, recounting what she said Judd told her.

“‘I stroked her face and told her how much I loved her,'” Jones recounted. “Then she reports putting a pillow over (Nada’s) face, laying on top of her and smothering her until she passed. She said her grandma struggled a bit.”

As for the issue of confidentiality, Jones said she told Judd what she tells all patients: What they discuss is confidential, with the exception of child abuse, elderly abuse, or if she is a danger to herself or to the community.

Jones agreed, but it’s the elderly abuse exception that led Jones to call authorities immediately after the counseling session, a phone call that was played in court.

Hummel said the situation was challenging for several reasons. No state Supreme Court or Court of Appeals rulings had addressed the issue directly. It led to the first such hearing in Deschutes County in more 30 years, and also was rare in that it dealt with a murder case.

“You put those three things together, and it was high drama in the courtroom today,” Hummel said.

In a news release, Hummel said, “I appreciate the time and effort Judge Bagley devoted to considering this important and novel legal issue.”

“Rather then, in essence, making my own legal ruling on this issue under the cloak of secrecy afforded by the grand jury process, it was appropriate to provide defense counsel the opportunity to weigh in on this critically important legal issue that has no precedent in Oregon law,” the DA said.

Deputy district attorneys Brigid Turner and Matt Nelson argued the case at the preliminary hearing and will represent the state at trial, Hummel said.

—

Monday’s story:

At first, family members said they thought Nada Bodholdt died of natural causes. But when Judd reportedly told a co-worker that she killed her grandmother during a counseling session, she became a murder suspect.

Witnesses were called Monday to testify about the final days of Bodholdt’s life. The judge is to determine whether a statement Judd made to her social worker about killing her grandmother is admissible in court.

“The statement is very important. The statement deals with the murder in question so its a critical part of this case,” said Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel. He said it was the first such hearing in the county in at least 30 years.

:Grand jury rules require that a DA only introduce evidence in front of the grand jury that is clearly admissible in court,” Hummel explained in an email to NewsChannel 21.

“The statement at issue here presents a case of first impression, and I could not introduce the statement to the grand jury with full confidence that it would be admissible in court,” the DA wrote.

‘Without the statement there is insufficient evidence that the suspect is guilty of a crime, thus I could not ask the grand jury to indict,” Hummel said. “So if my desire was to proceed down the grand jury path, I would not file charges. But since I think the suspect committed a serious crime I did not want to do this.

“I decided to proceed via the preliminary hearing path. as this allows a judge to assess the legal issues in regard to the statement and to then issue a ruling as to whether the statement is admissible.”

Hummel filled a memorandum in a bid to convince the court to allow the confession as evidence. He argued that the confidential psychotherapist patient privilege does not apply in this case.

Social worker Wendy Jones testified that she is mandated under Oregon law to report Judd’s confession.

“The psychologist or psychiatrist exemption does not apply to me,” Jones said.

The defendant’s attorney argued the confession was made in a confidential setting. Typically, this case would go to a grand jury for indictment,, but because not all evidence has been deemed admissible, Hummel said that procedure can’t be used.

Bodholt’s body was cremated before Judd’s arrest, as she had been under hospice care, so it was not inspected for signs of foul play. Without a body, witness statements will hold heavy weight in Circuit Judge Beth Bagley’s decision.

“In a case like this, without a body, other evidence becomes much more important,” Hummel said.