Trial date set for Aug. 29
An Ohio woman who is accused of killing her 11-year- old son in a Laurel hotel room almost two years ago is competent to stand trial, Jones County Circuit Court Judge Dal Williamson ruled on Thursday.
Latina Marie Oates, 34, could face the death penalty if convicted of capital murder in the case, which was set for trial starting Aug. 29. She is accused of pushing a metal rod through the skull of her son Josh, 11, while her other sons — then ages 9 and 6 — were in the same hotel room, then continuing her journey from Ohio to New Orleans to visit the home of voodoo queen Marie Laveau.
That’s where she was taken into custody before being extradited back to Jones County. The younger sons were OK and went to live with their grandmother back in Ohio. The decision on Oates’ ability to stand trial was based on a pair of psychological evaluations that were conducted by Dr. Kris Lott in November and December, the judge said.
He read parts of the report aloud, noting that Lott — who was hired by the defendant’s family — determined that Oates “has a rational understanding of the legal process,” that she was “capable of testifying” and her responses were in the “average to high average range.” It was also noted that she “has the capacity to understand to waive or assert or Constitutional rights” — as she did 11 minutes into her initial interview with investigators, when she asked for an attorney.
The state intends to file a motion to have Oates undergo a psychological examination by another doctor, Assistant District Attorney Katie Sumrall said. The judge told her to do that as soon as possible because he plans on “keeping this trial date,” he said.
“The state does not intend to take the death penalty off the table,” Sumrall said, “so the Office of Capital Defense needs to be notified.”
That Jackson-based office works with defendants in capital cases along with their hired attorneys.
Oates is being represented by attorney Jeannene Pacific, a former DA.
“I have prosecuted (a death-penalty case) but I haven’t defended one,” she told the judge. “I will call the (OCSD) and talk to them.”
Young Josh’s body and the disturbing scene were discovered by a hotel housekeeper on March 17, 2019. Law enforcement officials immediately turned their attention toward finding Oates and the other two sons, sending out an Amber Alert. Oates and the boys were located in New Orleans the next morning.
She waived extradition, and Investigator Abraham McKenzie — then of the Laurel Police Department, now with the Jones County Sheriff’s Department — and Investigator Brad Grunig of the DA’s Office went to New Orleans to serve the arrest warrant and interview the suspect.
She was charged with capital murder and is being held in the Jones County Adult Detention Center without bond. Child abuse is the underlying felony to the murder that makes it a capital case.
Chilling details about what happened in that hotel room came to light in subsequent court hearings, and veteran law enforcement officials and medical professionals were shaken by what they witnessed. Investigators reportedly found “an altar of sorts” in the hotel room, and Oates told them she had been reading books about and practicing voodoo since she was 17, Pacific said.
“She believed she was a priestess of voodoo for Marie Laveau,” Pacific told the court in January 2021 when requesting the psychological evaluation. “She said spirits told her to do this ... to kill (Josh) to save her other children. She told authorities that (Josh) was not her son, that she was under the influence of voodoo spirits.”
The defendant, who goes by the name “Marie,” has “an extensive history of mental illness” and has been on “various medications,” Pacific said at the time, noting that her family members in Ohio were providing medical records for Lott.
Other friends and family members contacted a Leader-Call reporter and said that Oates had not been interested in voodoo nor suffering from mental illness.
“She always thought she was smarter than the average person,” a woman
who identified herself as an ex-girlfriend said on the condition that she not be identified.
Her former mother-in-law — who was then raising the remaining sons — agreed with that assessment and had some strong words for her son’s ex- wife. She called her a “very smart, intelligent and manipulative liar” who had studied psychology and business management and had designed websites, among other occupations.
“There is nothing wrong with her mentally ... that’s just another one of her lies,” as is the claim about practicing voodoo, Daberina Oates said. “All I want is for her to be put to death. Any sentence less than the death penalty, I will not be happy.”
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