Judge Says Parents’ 911 Call Not Relevant in Fatal Rat Bite Case

Defense attorneys for a homeless couple accused of letting a pet rat kill their infant son suffered a setback Thursday when a judge refused to let the jury hear an emotionally wrenching 911 recording made the night the baby died.

In making the ruling, Orange County Superior Court Judge Kazaharu Makino said the tape would have a “substantial emotional impact” and could unfairly sway the jury. Makino added that the parental grief heard on the tape “is not relevant” to the case.

Kathyleen and Steven Giguere Sr. are on trial for involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment in the death of their 4-month-old son, Steven Jr., who was bitten more than 100 times by the starving animal last August. The couple faces up to six years in prison if convicted.

The defense was hoping that the 911 tape would rebut damaging testimony against the couple, which has portrayed them as extremely neglectful parents.

“From Day One these people have been made out to be pretty miserable people,” said attorney William Watson, who represents Kathyleen Giguere. The tape “ would have shown these are people who clearly cared about their children.”

The prosecution has argued that the couple, who were living with their infant son and a 3-year-old daughter in a filthy, trash-strewn station wagon, were criminally negligent by allowing the rat to roam free in the car. The couple were not around when the rat’s teeth struck an artery, causing the child to bleed to death, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. Jim Tanizaki.

The defense maintains the baby died of sudden infant death syndrome or a congenital breathing disorder.

With the jury out of the courtroom, both parents wept Thursday afternoon as they listened to their 911 conversation being played. Both parents could be heard crying into the phone as emergency operators instructed the couple how to administer CPR to the infant, who had stopped breathing.

Makino, however, permitted the defense to provide the jury with a transcript of the five-minute phone emergency call.

The defense concluded its case Thursday. The jury is expected to begin deliberating early next week.