Parents Say Son Pressured to Confess to Baby’s Murder
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ROCK HILL, SC– A Rock Hill teen charged with the fire that killed his 14-month-old brother faced a judge Tuesday in the probable cause hearing.
The teen’s parents say a five-hour interrogation connects Matt Morgan to his baby brother’s death.
However, his attorney says no audio recordings back up what deputies say is his confession.
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“He’s a good boy,” said Julie Hill. “He’s a really good boy.”
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Julie Hill and her husband Myke Hill say they left their baby in their son Matt’s care March 6.Β Matt says he was asleep when the fire sparked.
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His attorney maintained in court Tuesday that there’s no way the 17-year-old, with developmental delays and autism, could concoct a plan to kill baby Josh.
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“Our neighbors had to hold him back to keep him from running back into a flaming house,” said Julie Hill.Β
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Prosecutors say Matt told investigators several stories in the interrogation room three days after the fire.
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Investigators say he first said he accidentally threw a pillow near a heater.Β
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He changed the story, investigators say, and said he lit a pillow and threw it into the air.
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Investigators testified burn patterns show it’s likely the teen dropped a candle on a blanket in the baby’s room, then intentionally started a fire in the living room with a pillow.
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Matt’s parents believe the fire sparked due to faulty wiring in the home.
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“If I believed for an instant that Matt would do something to Josh, I wouldn’t be here talking to you. I wouldn’t be going to court and supporting him,” said Myke Hill.
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The couple says they visit Matt weekly in jail.
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“He just says he knows in his heart that his little brother in heaven knows he did not do this to him,” said Julie Hill.
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A Grand Jury will decide if there’s enough evidence to try Matt for the murder and arson charges.
