A Fraser man convicted of killing a 6-year-old child with special needs has been granted a new trial after the Michigan Court of Appeals found the man’s own statements to police, the most damning evidence against him, should not have been allowed to be used during his trial.
Hunter Locke-Hughes was convicted in February 2024 of first-degree child abuse and involuntary manslaughter in connection with the death of Terry Adams.
Locke-Hughes, who was dating Terry’s mother, had been watching the boy and his younger sister while their mother worked.
He was sentenced to 7.5 to 30 years in prison, with credit for two years he already served.
A three-judge Court of Appeals panel found that while there was enough evidence presented at trial to support Locke-Hughes’ conviction for first-degree child abuse, the most critical evidence — an interrogation with police where the officers did not read Locke-Hughes his Miranda rights to stay silent and have an attorney — should not have been allowed to be played at the trial.
“The evidence against Locke-Hughes, independent of this video, as detailed above, was circumstantial and not overwhelming,” the judges wrote in an opinion issued Wednesday. “Though the evidence at trial revealed that Locke-Hughes had the opportunity to commit first-degree child abuse against Terrance, it did not indicate the requisite intent. The April 6 video was the only piece of evidence revealing potential intent, and thus, there is a reasonable possibility that a factfinder would have acquitted Locke-Hughes of this charge had it not been played at trial.”
The Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office spokesperson Esther Wolfe said the court’s decision is under review. She said the office will “consider options and take the appropriate action in due course.”
Terry’s father, Gary Adams, said he is “highly upset” about the court’s ruling and said he feels like Locke-Hughes is “going to get away with killing my son.”
Terry was featured in a June 2023 Detroit News special report about 371 Michigan children who died from abuse or neglect in the past 10 years, and 33 state children in 2020 who died of child abuse or neglect when their parents had a previously investigated complaint within the past two years.
From June to December 2021, CPS was called six times about Terry, according to case records. Terry’s injuries included bruises, a broken arm and black eyes.
Under a Children’s Protective Services safety plan, according to records, Terry was not supposed to be around Locke-Hughes due to allegations of abuse.
The medical examiner determined Terry drowned, but classified his manner of death as indeterminate, as the circumstances surrounding his entry into the bathtub and what happened in the bathtub were unclear.
Locke-Hughes told police he put Terry in the bath after he vomited when his mom left, then took him out when he defecated in the tub and laid him on the couch, according to the Court of Appeals. He said Terry got back into the bathtub by himself — something his mother testified he could not do without assistance when water was in the tub — and drowned while Locke-Hughes was on the phone with Terry’s mother.
Prosecutors said Locke-Hughes held Terry underwater in the bathtub, though despite having died of drowning, there was no water in his lungs, according to the Court of Appeals.
Locke-Hughes argued in his appeal there was no evidence shown at trial that he knowingly or intentionally drowned Terry.
Without the video of the interrogation, there was “some, albeit not sufficient, evidence of first-degree child abuse,” the judges wrote in their opinion. Locke-Hughes’ alleged intent was only shown during the interrogation, which the judges said was coercive.
The officers repeatedly asked if Locke-Hughes was holding Terry’s shoulders down in the bathtub, and why. Locke-Hughes said initially he did not know, then later acknowledged it was so he could get the soap off Terry’s body.
“At no point during the April 6 interview did law enforcement tell Locke-Hughes that he was free to leave,” the judges wrote. “Locke-Hughes began to make some incriminating statements about twenty-five minutes into the interview and the officers continued questioning him for nearly an hour. Thus, we conclude this factor weighs in favor of finding that Locke-Hughes would not have felt free to leave or terminate the interview.”
The court said the officers’ questions during this interview were “leading, presumptive, and increasingly accusatory.”
“Throughout the interview, the officers made various responses pushing back and doubting Locke-Hughes’ version of the story, including, ‘that’s not what happened, and you know that’s not what happened.’ The officers frequently referenced ‘god’ and inferred that Locke-Hughes must be carrying guilt for which he should confess and seek forgiveness. They reminded Locke-Hughes that, if he did not confess, he would be ‘portrayed as a monster’ and continued to play on Locke-Hughes’ emotions by showing pictures of Terrance, saying how he did not deserve to die this way and how Terrance loved Locke-Hughes.”
At his sentencing, Locke-Hughes said he felt “terrible for what happened.”
“I didn’t participate in anything that caused Terry’s passing,” he said. “I did all I could do to save him.”
Locke-Hughes said he accepts responsibility for the involuntary manslaughter charge, but he doesn’t accept the first-degree child abuse charge. He argued he didn’t intentionally or knowingly cause any harm to Terry.
kberg@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Fraser man gets new trial for death, abuse of 6-year-old boy
Reporting by Kara Berg, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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By Kara Berg, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
