Slain infant’s mother to fight extradition
By Hunter Sauls
The Facts
Published February 15, 2008
The one-way plane ticket to bring the mother of a slain 3-month-old boy back from New York will have to wait.
Caren Kohberger, 27, of Alvin has requested a hearing on her extradition from New York to face a child endangerment charge in Brazoria County, a process which typically takes weeks to resolve.
Brazoria County District Attorney Jeri Yenne said her office is prepared to “jump through the hoops” of the formal extradition process to bring her back to the county.
Kohberger has been held in a New York City prison hospital since her arrest Tuesday by New York City police and FBI agents.
Officials allege Kohberger endangered the life of her son, Alijah Mullis, by giving him to his unstable and potentially violent father, Travis Mulls, at the trailer home in Alvin in which they lived. An affidavit on the charge against Kohberger states she told police Mullis was “freaking out,” having flashbacks to sexual abuse and threatening to hurt one of the children the morning of Jan. 29.
The body of a baby believed to be Alijah was found later that day in Galveston. Police say Mullis, who surrendered to police in Philadelphia two weeks ago after a national manhunt, confessed to stomping in the skull of the infant to stop him from crying.
Unlike Kohberger, Mullis waived his right to an extradition hearing and was brought to a Galveston County Jail cell within days. He faces capital murder charges.
Yenne said she never predicts the outcome of extradition hearings because she has been surprised in the past. The main issue of the hearings are to determine conclusively an accused person’s identity, she said.
“The issue, generally, is identity,” Yenne said. “Is this the same person that is charged with the crime in another state?”
Photographs and documentation will be sent to New York as evidence of Kohberger’s identity, Yenne said. Since authorities are sure it is Kohberger who is behind bars in New York, Yenne said she isn’t worried. Yenne’s office performs interstate extraditions about three times a week, she said.
“If a New York court authorizes extradition, the sheriff’s department will make arrangements, travel to the state and retrieve the individual,” she said.
If returned to Texas soil, Kohberger would be held in the Brazoria County jail on $60,000 bond.
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