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Woman charged in child's death testifies she did not understand her rights

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By Crocker Stephenson

The woman charged with killing 13-month-old foster child Christopher Thomas and torturing his 2-year-old sister testified Thursday that she did not have the capacity to understand the rights she waived when she described to police the beatings she allegedly inflicted on the children.

"My mind, I'm hearing things and I'm concentrating and hearing other things," Crystal Keith told Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Patricia McMahon.

"I didn't hear them when they said attorney and all that," she said.

The statements Keith and her attorney, Richard Hart, sought to suppress were made to Milwaukee police Detective James Hutchinson on Nov. 10, the day police say Christopher was beaten. Christopher died from his injuries the next day.

According to police reports, the statements Keith made to Hutchinson that day mostly concerned how she beat Christopher's sister.

A recording of Hutchinson reading Keith her Miranda rights was played for the court. Keith told Hutchinson she understood her rights.

"He told me my rights," Keith testified, "but I was thinking about what happened that day."

Under cross-examination by Assistant District Attorney Mark Williams, Keith said she knew her rights were important, and that she should be paying attention, but she did not want Hutchinson to think she was being uncooperative.

"I didn't want him to know I wasn't concentrating," she said.

McMahon ruled that Keith, who is 24 and has an 11th-grade education, adequately understood her rights and knowingly waived them.

The trial is expected to begin May 5.

2009 Apr 9