Patricia Ripley, the West Kendall woman accused of drowning her 9-year-old autistic son in a canal and falsely blaming two Black men for his kidnapping, wants taxpayers to help foot the bill for her defense.
She is asking a Miami-Dade circuit judge to declare her “indigent,” according to court documents, even though her family is already planning to pay $300,000 to a trio of private lawyers to help defend her in a case that shocked South Florida.
The taxpayer money would go toward paying fees for a private investigator, expert witnesses, legal copies and depositions. While it’s too early to know how much Florida would pay if she’s allowed public assistance, other death-penalty cases have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees for experts, investigators and other fees.
A hearing has now been set for July 9. The decision will fall to Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Charles Johnson, who last week agreed to declare her “indigent” — a decision made without ever holding a hearing. He rescinded the decision Tuesday after state authorities objected to her receiving public assistance.
Ripley, 45, is facing a grand-jury indictment for first-degree murder — and the possibility of the death penalty — for the May 21 killing of Alejandro Ripley, who suffered from severe autism and could not speak. Ripley, who is charged with a slew of other felonies, remains jailed while awaiting trial.
Prosecutors said she initially called police to report two Black men took the boy after running her off the road near a West Kendall Home Depot. State authorities issued an Amber Alert, but detectives were immediately suspicious of her shifting stories.
The next day, the boy’s body was found in a canal near the Miccosukee Golf & Country Club, at Southwest 138th Court and 62nd Street, about four miles from where the alleged abduction took place.
Miami-Dade homicide detectives immediately learned that Ripley, earlier in the evening, had been seen with the boy at another spot along a canal. The video footage, taken from a nearby condo complex, showed her pushing the boy into the water, but he was rescued by a bystander.
About an hour later, according to police, Ripley pushed the child into the water and he drowned.
During hours of interrogation, detectives confronted Ripley with the footage. She admitted she’d made up the kidnapping story, according to an arrest report. She ultimately confessed to leading the boy to the canal where he ultimately died, and said “he’s going to be in a better place.”
Ripley has been jailed since her arrest last month. The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office says that once a grand jury resumes — proceedings are suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic — it will seek an indictment for first-degree murder. That means Ripley will face the death penalty.
Capital litigation is costly, and many defendants facing Death Row in Miami-Dade wind up with court-appointed lawyers because they cannot afford the expense. The Ripley family, however, is hiring a trio of Miami defense lawyers: Susy Ribero-Ayala, Sam Rabin and Andrea Lopez.
Ribero-Ayala, reached by email, declined to address the issue of indigency.
WARNING: Some viewers may find the following video disturbing.
“The only thing I can say is that the current state of affairs with COVID-19 makes defending this case more complicated due to our inability to see Ms Ripley face to face,” she wrote. “We are only permitted to see her through glass and it is extremely difficult, if not impossible to hear her or have her hear us. “
In asking for taxpayer help, the defense said the Ripley family has already paid $30,000, and is hoping to pay the rest of the $300,000 legal bill by December through the sale of a property in the Dominican Republic.
The Judicial Administration Commission (JAC), the state agency that handles bills for poor defendants, objected and noted that under state law, anyone paying over $25,000 for a capital case is “presumed” to have enough money to pay for the whole case.
“Considering the amount to be paid, the defendant has a substantial burden to show she qualifies as indigent for costs,” JAC attorney Christian Lake wrote to the court. “Her partial ownership of a property located in the Dominican Republic likely precludes such a finding until funds associated with that asset are exhausted.”
Judge Johnson initially declared her indigent on June 26 — the same day Ripley’s request was made — even though prosecutors and the JAC asked for a hearing. His order said he made the decision “after hearing arguments” from lawyers — but no court hearing was ever held.
The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office did not learn of the order until Tuesday, when the Miami Herald emailed the office seeking comment about the judge’s decision. In a court filing on Tuesday, Miami-Dade Assistant State Attorney Gail Levine asked for a hearing and said Ripley does not qualify for taxpayer assistance under state law. “Neither the State nor the JAC were provided an opportunity to be heard,” Levine wrote in again asking for a hearing.
Judge Johnson agreed to rescind the order and set the hearing — which will be held via Zoom because of COVID-19 closures — for July 9.
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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde
