Son Testifies Against Mother in Murder Trial Involving Baby : Courts: The defense seeks a mistrial after the witness utters the name of another child whom Debra Suzanne Cummings is accused of killing.

In testimony against his mother, an 18-year-old witness in a murder trial Wednesday uttered the name of a child the defendant is accused of killing in another case.

The act prompted a request by the woman’s lawyer that the charge be dismissed.

The request was denied. The judge cut short Wednesday’s testimony and said he will deal with the matter when the trial resumes Monday.

The son, Joshua Rickards, had testified that he had seen his mother, Debra Suzanne Cummings, 34, mistreat children with whom she was baby-sitting.

Under cross-examination by Cummings’ lawyer, Rickards was asked when he had learned of the death of the baby, Kevin Young, 9 months, in whose death Cummings is on trial for second-degree murder. Rickards said he was not told for several days. He went on, saying, “I had not even heard about Matthew’s death . . . “ when he was stopped by the lawyer.

“Matthew” referred to Matthew Cooley, 14 months, who died after losing consciousness while at a park with Cummings three months before Kevin died. Cummings is charged with involuntary manslaughter in that death.

Judge Michael J. Farrell of Van Nuys Superior Court has forbidden testimony about Matthew’s death, ruling that it would be prejudicial.

“I don’t believe the young man did it inadvertently,” defense lawyer Joe Ingber told Farrell after the jury had been hastily excused. “I’m just outraged.”

He said the outright dismissal of the charge would be a more proper remedy than a mistrial, the usual step if a judge concludes that a jury has been hopelessly prejudiced. A mistrial would presumably be followed by the refiling of the charge and another trial.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Carol Fisch said mentioning Matthew was an accident and that a dismissal would not be appropriate.

Farrell said he was disinclined to grant the dismissal but will decide next week. He might simply order the jury to ignore the remark, he said.

Cummings was baby-sitting with Kevin in her home in June, 1990, when the child suffered two fatal skull fractures. She said he fell against a coffee table. A coroner’s report said the injuries were inconsistent with a fall and that it appeared that the infant had been hit with a hand or fist.

Before the trial was suspended, Rickards testified that in 1989 and 1990 he saw his mother spank one child for sucking her thumb and put another in a closet, saying it was easier for the child to sleep in the dark. She had once left Kevin unattended for about an hour strapped to a car seat on her bed, he testified.

He also testified that he heard Cummings describe Kevin as an “Oreo baby from an Oreo family.” The child’s father is black, and the mother is white, as is Cummings.

Rickards testified that his mother’s sister and her husband offered to buy him a car if he would not testify against his mother. He said his uncle added that “everyone in the family would dislike you if you testify.” Rickards said his mother had told him in March that it was “wrong to testify against your own mother.”

Rickards was one of several witnesses brought forward by the prosecutor to contradict Cummings’ testimony that she is a loving mother and baby-sitter.

Last week, a woman who had testified on Cummings’ behalf at a bail-reduction hearing in July recanted. She said she had “exaggerated” when she made favorable remarks about Cummings.

The woman, Kathy Clebanoff, who was treasurer of a PTA of which Cummings was president, had described Cummings as a hard worker who poured hours into the school, Shirley Avenue Elementary School in Reseda, and took excellent care of her charges.

“She is loved at our school and there is no way she would hurt a child,” Clebanoff said at the time. “I left my children in her care many times, and they love going to Debbie’s house.”

But last week, Clebanoff testified that she had to “exaggerate to make Debbie look good,” and that she had doubts about Cummings’ innocence because of stories circulating among friends about Cummings’ abusive behavior.

Clebanoff also testified that Cummings told her that she thought the father might have caused the injuries to Kevin. “Black people do that to their children . . . they abuse their children,” she quoted Cummings as saying.

Another PTA mother, Michelle Hart, testified last week that she once saw Cummings leave an infant unattended for more than hour in her car while she dealt with PTA business.