Monday, December 15, 2025
48.0°F

Hull arraigned in infant death

Ralph Bartholdt Staff Writer | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 7 years, 7 months AGO
by Ralph Bartholdt Staff Writer
| May 11, 2018 1:00 AM

A not guilty plea has been entered for a 24-year-old Post Falls man charged with first-degree murder in the death of a 7-month-old girl.

Although attorneys for Cody J. Hull asked First District Judge Scott Wayman on Tuesday to continue Hull’s arraignment, which fell just four days after his initial court appearance, Wayman denied the request and entered a not guilty plea on Hull’s behalf.

Hull is accused in the Nov. 24 death of the daughter of his girlfriend, according to a grand jury indictment that included the testimony of 16 witnesses including doctors, witnesses and sheriff’s office investigators.

Attorneys asked the court for a two-week trial beginning Oct. 2 in Coeur d’Alene, with a pretrial hearing set Sept. 14, unless a settlement is reached before then.

Hull’s bond was set at $1 million last week despite a plea from defense attorney Jason Johnson of Spokane, who told the court that his client has no criminal history and that he grew up in the area.

“The defendant has the support of not only his family, but the child’s family,” Johnson told the court.

Johnson said Hull worked at Walmart and lived with the baby’s mother. He asked that his client be released on his own recognizance, and wear a monitoring device, which the judge denied.

According to the May 2 indictment, Hull “did unlawfully kill and murder a human being, committed in the perpetration or attempted perpetration of aggravated battery upon (the) child … by inflicting a head injury upon the Stella M. Engall.”

If convicted Hull could face a minimum 10 years behind bars and a maximum life sentence.

Jonson this week filed two motions including a request to receive transcripts of the grand jury proceedings and an order to request public funds to hire an investigator. Wayman hasn’t yet ruled on the motions.

The prosecutor’s office at Tuesday’s hearing was represented by deputies Laura McClinton and Rebecca Perez.

ARTICLES BY RALPH BARTHOLDT STAFF WRITER

Traffic fatalities on Super Bowl Sundays? Nope
February 1, 2020 midnight

Traffic fatalities on Super Bowl Sundays? Nope

Super Bowl Sunday may invoke images of tailgating and revelry that exceed the merriment of other annual sporting events, but local law enforcement aren’t kicking off special patrols to tackle errant — or intoxicated — drivers.

Isenberg: No plea at murder hearing
March 4, 2020 midnight

Isenberg: No plea at murder hearing

Her shackles jangling, Lori Isenberg walked in single file with other inmates into a downtown Coeur d’Alene courtroom Tuesday afternoon, wearing red, high-security jail pajamas and shower shoes.

Police: Man sought in assault case
March 6, 2020 12:15 a.m.

Police: Man sought in assault case

The 53-year-old man who likely died during a standoff with police this week in Post Falls was wanted for failing to appear at his sentencing hearing after being convicted for assaulting a group of Jehovah’s Witnesses.