Elizabeth O’Brien was murdered on Jan. 29, 2008, in Jefferson Township, Morris County, New Jersey. The next day, 19-year-old Demetrius Diaz-Bridges was questioned a number of times by law enforcement officers and denied any connection with the murder. He was not arrested at that time, but three months later three New Jersey law enforcement officers again sought to interrogate Diaz, who was then living with his mother and stepfather in North Carolina. He voluntarily agreed to the questioning, which took place in a windowless interrogation room in a Raleigh police station.

After being read his Miranda rights, Diaz was aggressively interrogated over a period of 10 hours by questioners who consistently told him that they knew that he killed O’Brien and that they did not believe his repeated denials of guilt. Diaz eventually collapsed under the pressure, began to cry, became sick and vomited. He then asked to talk to his mother before they continued. The request was denied, Diaz being told he could talk to her after he made his statement. The interrogation continued, and Diaz finally confessed. Over the next 48 minutes of questioning, Diaz asked to speak to his mother eight times and each time his request was denied. Finally, six hours and 48 minutes into the interrogation, he was permitted to speak to his mother, but “the cat already was out of the bag.” Diaz was then charged and tried for murder. The entire interrogation was videotaped.

This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.

To view this content, please continue to their sites.

Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Why am I seeing this?

LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.

For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]