After a taxing and somewhat unusual trial by jury in Superior Court III, jurors reached a verdict in just under 15 minutes. Following hours of shouting, profanity and disrespect from the self-represented Aubrey Coy, 35, of 4865 E. 1000N, Syracuse, the jury reached a unanimous guilty verdict for interference with custody, a class D felony. Just over a year ago, Coy led Michigan police on a high speed pursuit after abducting her then 5-year-old daughter from a supervised visitation at her mother’s Syracuse residence.
The second half of today’s proceedings (see: Coy Trial Begins, Not Your Typical Trial) included testimony from Coy herself despite advisement from presiding Judge Joe Sutton that her testimony was not required and could be used against her. Coy led jurors on a long, disjointed recollection of past events she stated drove her to her actions.
Coy cited a past alleged assault by her daughter’s stepmother, Melissa Milos, as the reason she fled with her daughter on April 13, 2014. Though Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Karin McGrath moved to dismiss the claims as irrelevant and unsubstantiated, Sutton allowed Coy to finish her testimony. This allowance was granted after McGrath’s examination of prior disorderly conduct charges, which were dismissed, between Milos and Coy. Though Coy alleged assault from Milos, no such charges exist.
Further testimony was heard from Michigan State Trooper Matt Berry as well as Constantine Police Officer Josh Waird, noting not only was methamphetamine found within Coy’s blood at the time of the police chase, a packet of methamphetamine was discovered in the passenger-side front seat within a Marlboro packet. The same front seat her 5-year-old daughter was sitting in before Coy pulled the child into her lap during the police pursuit. Coy denied the possession claims were true, accusing officers of lying continuously.
In closing statements, McGrath approached the jurors, asserting that Coy was the definition of obstinate.
“The definition of Aubrey Coy reads like a big ‘screw you’ to anyone in authority with disrespect for the law and the court’s order . . . Aubrey had no intention of giving her daughter to Louis (her daughter’s father). Do you believe Aubrey was worried for her daughter’s safety? Or do you believe with one big ‘screw you’ did whatever the hell she wanted to. She is not the mother concerned for a child’s safety. These are the actions of someone who does what she wants, when she wants, how she wants — the rules and the courts be damned.”
In her closing statement, Coy claimed McGrath’s opinion of her was false, claiming she had every right to take her daughter.
“I had a right to take her. I’m not sorry for what I did, I’m sorry for being here getting shocked (in reference to her claim of a cult electrocuting her in the Kosciusko County Jail) for it. I’m not guilty.”
When told she was found guilty by the appointed jury, Coy laughed incredulously. Sutton moved to perform a pres-sentence investigation report to collect further information about Coy before sentencing. Coy rebuffed profusely, demanding she was ready for her sentence now and that Sutton knew all there was to know about her after today’s proceedings. Sutton informed Coy he would go on with the PSI despite her objections.
Sentencing is scheduled to take place at 8:15 a.m. Wednesday, May 6.
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