Riverside County adoptive mother charged with murder could get out of jail pending trial, judge decides – Orange County Register

Michelle Morris-Kerin, a former Riverside County foster home operator who originally organized 1 million USD guarantee money in the death of a child and lewd conduct with others in her care, was ordered to release $50,000 on Monday, January 10, by a judge saying his two hands he is tied.

The release order for Riverside County Superior Court Judge Timothy Freer, which included a long list of conditions, was strongly opposed by the District Attorney’s Office, mother of the late “Princess” Diane Ramirez and the Orange County family of one of the alleged victims. .

The judge said a new ruling by the state Supreme Court leaves him with no other choice.

“Humphreys Freer said. “It’s not a request from the Supreme Court. It’s not, ‘If you want to like arrive.’ That is the law of the land. ”

The Supreme Court ruled that California’s old money bail system violated the federal and state constitutions. Courts say whether an accused person remains locked up awaiting trial depends on careful, personalized public safety calculations, but on the person’s ability to post the indicated amount. specified in the county bail schedule, the court said.

Instead, judges must now consider the defendant’s ability to pay bail as well as the seriousness of the charges and past criminal history. Judges must choose the least restrictive alternative to protect public safety.

Monica Mukai, Ryan Morris’ biological aunt, was one of the alleged victims who begged the judge not to let Morris-Kerin out of prison.

‘Accumulation’

“Not to punish, but to protect those who have been severely harmed,” said Mukai, San Juan Capistrano. “She’s incredibly charismatic.”

Morris-Kerin has a pending application in probate court for legal guardianship of some of her adopted disabled adult children, despite the felony felony charges. Ryan Morris is one of them, and his biological family has been fighting to bring Morris-Kerin closer to him for decades.

Ryan Morris had the intellectual capacity of a preschooler, and Morris-Kerin poisoned him against his biological family, Mukai, and his blood relatives. Morris-Kerin also allowed Ryan Morris married to a man almost twice her age, despite the fact that Ryan Morris is incapable of understanding marriage.

“Obviously people think you’re an absolute danger,” the judge told Morris-Kerin, who was charged. second degree murder in Ramirez’s death and lewd and lewd behavior with dependent adults in her care. She was held in the Riverside County Jail for five months.

So Freer detailed a long list of conditions that must be met for Morris-Kerin to be released from prison: She must constantly wear a GPS tracker. She must not communicate directly with her children, the alleged victims, or through third parties. She may not have attempted to contact witnesses. She may not take care of anyone, children or adults. She has to check with the court once a week.

If she deviated from the order, “That would be a fatal mistake” would send her back behind bars, Freer said. “Do you understand?” he asks.

“Yes, your honor,” she said.

The judge also issued a criminal protection order for the 11 alleged victims in the case, including Ryan Morris.

‘Many good years’

Morris-Kerin was arrested in August for not being able to help Ramirez, a critically ill adopted son, as well as Sexual abuse of disabled people. Her husband, Edward Lawrence “Larry” Kerin, was charged with neglect in connection with the death of the child, and also charged with lewd conduct. He was released from prison on a $35,000 bond.

Morris-Kerin, 80, suffered from skin cancer, heart problems and an enlarged aorta, Deputy Police Chief Richard Briones-Colman told the judge. She has little money, no risk in flying and no danger to the public, he said.

“She has had a lot of good years working as a carer,” he said. “The consensus is that she stayed in the business for too long, working 12 to 16 hours a day, as a 79-year-old woman.”

Morris-Kerin and her husband sold their home in Calle Bandido near Murrieta for $1.4 million in December, according to reports. real estate records. By the time the debt was settled, they had only $60,000 left and spent $48,000 of that on a much smaller new home, Briones-Colman said. They were left with only about $12,000, which was not enough to pay the high bail, which was initially $1 million but was later reduced to $500,000.

Deputy District Attorney Jason Stone countered that Morris-Kerin received good medical care while in prison and that she could have used the money from the December home sale to post $500,000 on bail instead of buying a house. other house. “That decision is not an escape card,” says Stone.

Briones-Colman countered that cash alone to cover the bond was not enough – the defendants must also have substantial assets.

The next hearing is held on January 25. Mukai is worried about what Morris-Kerin might try to do after he gets out of prison.

“I don’t think those restrictions are enough,” says Mukai. “I believe the judge should keep her in prison to protect society.”