A defense attorney filed a motion Tuesday to suppress statements given to police by a Deerfield man charged with the murder of his wife in their home last fall.
Gary Kamen faces multiple counts of first-degree murder, as well as aggravated sexual assault and aggravated kidnapping stemming from the Sept. 21, 2018, stabbing death of his wife, 53-year-old Karyn Kamen.
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According to police and prosecutors, Kamen allegedly handcuffed his wife and held her hostage in the couple’s home for hours, sexually assaulting her before eventually stabbing her multiple times.
Kamen’s defense attorney, James Schwarzbach, filed a motion to suppress what he characterized as a confession by his client at the Deerfield Police Department, arguing that investigators did not properly follow Miranda procedure and ignored Kamen’s request for an attorney at the beginning of questioning.
Schwarzbach said any statements given by a defendant that provide potentially self-incriminating evidence to police are considered a confession, even if they do not constitute a full confession to the crime.
The motion states that “the defendant clearly refused to respond to said questioning and invoked right to counsel, then made statements inculpating himself in the crime charged to him.”
Schwarzbach said he paid to have a professional provide a transcript of the beginning of the interview, held the day after the stabbing occurred, and the partial transcript is included with the motion.
“I understand this, but I don’t have an attorney,” and, “Am I not given the right to make a call yet?” were among the comments Kamen made to police, according to the transcript. He also said he needed to call his brother to get him an attorney or wanted a public defender, and an officer told him a public defender would be appointed for his court appearance.
Eventually, according to the transcript, when an officer asks if he will answer questions without an attorney, Kamen responded, “I’ll answer any kind of question you want to ask me.”
But Schwarzbach said police violated Kamen’s rights during the Miranda procedure by not following his request for an attorney prior to questioning, even though he did answer questions.
“I’m challenging the manner in which the Miranda rights were given to my client, who appears on video to invoke his right to an attorney,” Schwarzbach said Tuesday.
A hearing on the motion has not yet been scheduled.
Schwarzbach also hired a private mental health expert to evaluate Kamen, and previously has stated he is compiling mental health records for Kamen going back to 2010, which he said will show a pattern of issues.
Kamen remains in Lake County jail without bond after prosecutors successfully argued that he be held on a no-bond status due to the nature of the alleged crime and the possibility that he could be a threat to the community.
If found guilty of the charges against him, Kamen could face up to life in prison, according to prosecutors.