Judge declines to throw out child
custody case
Snyders await Jan. 5 trial
"He knew that as soon as he had contact
with the authorities, that he was going to jail. That’s why he took that child
to Costa Rica."
— JUSTIN WHATCOTT, Blaine County
deputy prosecuting attorney
By GREG STAHL
Express Staff Writer
Pre-trial posturing is picking up in a
strange international child abduction case being played out in 5th District
Court in Hailey.
On Monday, Nov. 24, 5th District Judge
James May considered six motions made by both prosecutors and defense attorneys
in the case, which is scheduled to go to trial Jan. 5. Notably, he declined to
throw the case out at the requests of defense attorneys.
Stephen T. and Eli Snyder are on trial for
allegedly kidnapping Lily Snyder, Stephen’s daughter and Eli’s half sister.
Eli Snyder is charged with conspiracy to
commit child custody interference and child custody interference, both felonies.
Stephen T. Snyder, formerly of California, is charged with conspiracy to commit
child custody interference and aiding and abetting child custody interference,
both felonies.
On Monday, May denied motions by defense
attorneys to dismiss a grand jury indictment that established probable cause to
arrest the Snyders because the grand jury was "improperly instructed on
jurisdiction." The judge also denied a motion by defense attorneys to dismiss
the case for lack of jurisdiction.
"The motions will, in all respects, be
denied," he said.
The judge also denied a motion by Stephen
T. Snyder’s attorney, Public Defender Bob Pangburn, to prevent Lily Snyder from
testifying as a witness in the trial. Pangburn said the Snyders wished to
protect Lily from possible psychological damages, "where she could feel
responsible for putting her brother and her dad in jail."
May, however, said there are ways to
ensure Lily Snyder’s protection during the trial.
"Off hand, it occurs to me that she is a
competent witness," May said. "Clearly she can testify as to things that are
material."
Finally, May said he would take under
consideration a request by Blaine County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Justin
Whatcott to allow the state to present evidence of Stephen T. Snyder’s criminal
history.
Whatcott said that a warrant issued by
California for Stephen T. Snyder prior to the alleged kidnapping could help to
illustrate that he had a motive to contact his daughter and flee the country
with her.
"He knew that as soon as he had contact
with the authorities, that he was going to jail," Whatcott said. "That’s why he
took that child to Costa Rica."
Lily, the daughter of Stephen Snyder and
his estranged wife Margot Thornton, formerly of Ketchum, was rescued by an
anonymous, independent recovery team from the rain forest of Costa Rica on April
11, where she’d been living with her half-brother and father for nearly two
years.
Police say she had been abducted by Eli
Snyder, a half-brother, in June 2001 following a planned visit from Ketchum to
another half-brother, Forrest Snyder, who then lived in Eugene, Ore.
Thornton rushed to Costa Rica from her
Eugene, Ore., home to regain custody of Lily, while the recovery team turned the
Snyders over to Costa Rican police, who flew them to Miami and into the waiting
arms of U.S. authorities.
They were returned to Blaine County in
early May at Blaine County’s expense.
Lily has returned with her mother to
Oregon, where she has two half-siblings, Isa, 12, and Lars, 8.
In a telephone interview from her home
last spring, Thornton told the Mountain Express that Lily seemed unharmed and in
fact had acquired proficiency in Spanish as well as a self-reliance in rugged
jungle surroundings.