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ARP Thursday, June 28,2001Victim’s kin tells of suspect’s angerMitzi lodger b gvoted os saying of ber ex-busbaod's visit: I lost it o« bin.B Jim O’HaraSk** wr terTimolhy Badger’s sister testified Wednesday that when she mtormed her sister-in-law that he was in ihe hospital. Mitzi Badger replied, Oh my God1 It’s all my fault'.”Mary Clare Higgins said she told Mitzi Badger to sii down and calm down. Then she asked i her why she thought Timothy ] Badger’s hospitalization was her faultHiggins testified that Mitzi said Timolhy had been at her house a couple of nights earlier and she had gotten angrv when he tned to get her to sign a separation agreement I lost it on him.” Higgins quoted her sister-m-Iaw as saying.Hlggini followed her motherand another sister to the witness stand Wednesday as District Attorney William Fitzpatrick continued to present his case against Mi'zi Badger to an Onondaga County Court jury of 10 women and two men.Mitzi Badger, 37, of Bald-winsville is charged with second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter in the March 1999 death of her estranged husband. She is accused of poisoning him with a lethal dose of antifreeze.Defense lawyer James McGraw tned Wednesday to put a less sinister spin on comments the victim s relatives attributed to Mitzi Badger “She didn't say, *1 poisoned your brother,’ did she0” McGraw asked Higgins “No.” Higgins replied “She didn t say, ’After I lost it. I made coffee and poured some antifreeze in it,' did she?” the defense lawyer asked.“No she didn’t.” the witness answered.Higgins St it If ted she andMitzi Badger discussed antifreeze and how much might have been used to kill Timothy when they talked on the phone a couple of weeks after his death Higgins said Mitzi Badger told her the autopsy report showed he died from ingesting less than a shot glass of antifreeze. Mitzi , then said she thought that amount might make someone sick, but wouldn’t kill. Htggms saidHiggins also testified she asked Mitzi Badger if authorities suspected she had something to do with the fatal poisoning. Badger replied that police did not suspect her. but had worried that she and her two sons might also be in danger, Higgins said.The witness said that conversation ended with her telling her sister-in-law they were going to have to keep on top of authorities to learn what had happened Higgins said that although she and Mitzi Badger had talked on the phone at least 100 times over the years, she never heard from her sister-in-law after that phone conversation.Higgins and a younger sister, Jennifer Jones, described Mitzi Badger as seemingly preoccupied with the presence of her estranged husband's girlfriend at the hospital while he was being treated.Jones said Mitzi Badger was upset the girlfriend was there and used profanity to describe her When doctors mentioned Timothy Badger may have ingested ethylene glycol. Mitzi Badger looked toward some of his fnends, who were waiting to visit, and said, “I think they gave him something.’' Jones testified On cross-examination by McGraw. Higgins admitted that she had talked to detectives to see if it was OK to talk to Mitzi Badger on the phone before that last conversation she had on March 18, 1999. She said she knew her brother's death was considered suspicious and she did not want to do anything to hurt the investigation She then admitted she did not get clearance from law enforcement belore talking with other peopleNo testimony is scheduled for today The trial is set to resume Friday before Judge Joseph i Fahey 1
Newspaper Details
Syracuse Post Standard
Syracuse, New York, US
Thu, Jun 28, 2001
Page 8
Full Page
Clipped by
Onondaga C.
NY, USA 26 Mar 2024
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