Aurora – The woman accused of stabbing her granddaughter to death over the weekend was in court this morning for advisement on murder charges she faces.
Carol Lynn Pappas, 52, was in handcuffs and wore an orange jail jumpsuit in the hearing before Judge William Sylvester. She didn’t speak and was represented by public defender Jim O’Connor.
Pappas will be formally charged Thursday morning. She is accused of first-degree murder in the stabbing death of her 21-month-old granddaughter. The crime occurred Saturday in a southeastern Aurora home in the 17500 block of East LaSalle Drive.
Today, the house was still barricaded by yellow crime-scene tape and an Aurora police car stayed watch outside. It was still a crime scene, said Sgt. Joe Young of the Aurora Police Department.
In court, Judge Sylvester imposed a gag order on the case and sealed all documents, including a probable cause affidavit that tells what led police to believe Pappas committed the crime.
However, Tyler Lopez, a reporter for Denver’s Channel 7 television station obtained the affidavit before it was sealed and was ordered to surrender it to the court. Lopez gave back the affidavit but was weighing whether to broadcast the information that he had read.
Deputy District Attorney Karen Pearson asked the judge to hold Lopez in contempt of court if he broadcast the information.
“It’s not in the public interest,” to release the affidavit, said Kathleen Walsh, spokeswoman for the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office. “We are working on an ongoing investigation. We have to protect a defendant’s right to a fair trial.”
Staff writer Jeremy Meyer may be reached at 303-820-1175 or jpmeyer@denverpost.com.
