SAN RAFAEL - Winnfred Wright and the women who bore his 13 children have asked for more time before entering pleas on charges of second-degree murder and child endangerment in connection with the death of an infant and the alleged mistreatment of the other 12.
Lawyers for Wright and the four women he lived with asked Judge Terrence Boren on Tuesday for more time to review court documents. Boren, meanwhile, continued to keep a tight lid on the case and ruled that a gag order on attorneys should remain in effect.
Boren also refused to unseal the grand jury indictment, which is more than 900 pages. He said media accounts of such material would only serve to prejudice any potential jury that could be drawn from the small county of Marin.
The case came to a head shortly after the 19-month-old infant, Ndigo Campisi-Nyah-Wright, was brought dead to a local hospital in November. A coroner concluded the baby died of malnutrition and neglect.
Authorities immediately began investigating the cult-like family. The 12 remaining children have been placed in protective custody.
The children lived in a home where they were lashed and force-fed chili peppers if they misbehaved, according to papers filed with the court.
Officials also are investigating the death of Wright's 3-month-old daughter in 1990. He brought the infant to a San Francisco hospital three days after she died, officials said.
Wright, 45, and the three mothers - Carol Bremner, 44, Deirdre Wilson, 37, and Mary Campbell, 37 - remain in Marin County jail without bail.
Kali Polk-Matthews, 20, who only joined the household months ago and did not bear any children, doesn't face the murder charge. She was released from jail on $100,000 bail.
At Tuesday's hearing, attorneys for the five defendants urged the judge to keep important documents in the case, such as the grand jury indictment and search warrant documents, under seal to prevent sensational media coverage.
John Posey, a lawyer for Polk-Matthews, said he would need more time to review all of the materials in the case and called any notion of unsealing those documents "premature."
Boren, granting that request, scheduled the next plea hearing for April 2.
Nanci Clarence, an attorney for Wilson, said outside court that unsealing the grand jury indictment would "have a dangerous effect on the interests of the children and their privacy."
Boren also said he would not seal any documents in advance of their filing and would not conduct any hearings closed to the public or press. Lawyers for two newspapers have petitioned the court to lift the gag order and unseal the indictment.