Teenager's Taped Confession Played in Murder Trial

BUNNELL, FL --Jurors have only seen Morgan Leppert for two days this week. Wednesday, they also heard from her. An audio-taped interview between Florida investigators and Leppert was played in the courtroom.

Leppert is the 16-year-old from San Mateo in Putnam County accused of murdering 66-year-old James Stewart in his Melrose home in April 2008.

In the interview, Leppert giggles in the beginning. However, she eventually breaks down crying and confesses to attacking Stewart.

While the tape played, Leppert cried in the courtroom. Her family and friends did as well.

On the tape, Leppert says her 22-year-old boyfriend at the time, Toby Lowry, sent her to Stewart's home one afternoon in April 2008 to ask to use his phone. She said she called her own cell phone, left, and later reported to Lowry that Stewart was an older man.

Leppert did not know Stewart.

Leppert described going into Stewart's home hours later with Lowry through an unlocked door. She said Stewart was sitting at his computer, that Lowry pointed a knife at Stewart, and that Lowry demanded the keys to Stewart's truck.

Leppert said, "He [Stewart] said 'Oh, I'm going to call the cops,' and Toby said, 'No the hell you ain't! And, boom!," Leppert laughed, "punched him in the face!"

However, for most of the interview, Leppert cried while telling how the crimes were committed. Leppert told investigators, "Toby kept hitting him in the face."

She said she held two pipes, which were curtain rods they found on the side of the road.

She said Stewart even spoke to them.

"He said, 'Why ya'll going to kill me? I'm already half dead anyways," Leppert told investigators.

She also said, "I was about to cry. I told Toby, I was about to tell Toby that I don't want to do this. But Toby already started hitting him and he was like 'C'mon baby. C'mon! Hit him. Hit him!'"

Leppert admitted to hitting Stewart in the face with the curtain rods. She says she also stabbed him. She said it was more like "poking" him because she said the knife did not "go all the way through."

Leppert said, "The guy tried to grab Toby, and Toby stood up and put his foot on the guy's neck and he was on the floor... and just held him there and the guy died slowly."

Leppert said Toby put a garbage bag over Stewart's head and that Toby made sure Stewart was dead.

Leppert told investigators, Stewart "deserves what he got." Leppert said they attacked Stewart for money and his truck.

When investigators asked Leppert why they killed Stewart, she said, "He [Lowry] told me he was going to do whatever he had to do to be with me, and he took it too far." An investigator asked her, "Did you both take it too far?" Leppert said "yes."

On the tape, Detective John Merchant asked Leppert, "Why didn't you just walk out, Morgan?" Leppert sobbed, "I didn't want to leave Toby!"

Merchant said, "So you killed somebody?" Leppert wept, "I love him so much!"

Leppert's attorney, Christopher Smith objected to the tape being used as evidence during the trial.

He questioned investigators who took the stand about why they did not let Leppert call her mother until after the interview. Smith also asked if Leppert, a 15-year-old, understood her Miranda rights.

Both Investigator Chris Middleton and Detective John Merchant said they felt Leppert did understand her Miranda rights.

On the tape, Leppert said she spoke to an attorney who told her not to talk to investigators. Leppert said she chose to talk about the crimes because it seemed like the investigators already knew what had happened.

The trial began Monday.

Witnesses Wednesday included a detective from El Paso, Texas, where Leppert was found with her boyfriend Toby Lowry, who has already pleaded guilty to the crime and is expected to testify against Leppert.

The state rested its case and so did the defense. Leppert's attorney did not present any witnesses.

Initially, Leppert was the subject of an Amber Alert after she disappeared with Lowry, who is several years older than Leppert.

The subsequent investigation revealed Leppert was Lowry's girlfriend, and they had run off together. The prosecution also showed the jury surveillance video of Leppert and Lowry at a truck stop in Katie, Texas.

Prosecutors also submitted an initial investigative interview conducted in Texas, which revealed Leppert was giggly about dating Lowry.

In that interview, she admitted to running away with Lowry and that they had sex frequently.

She told investigators she didn't know where the truck came from, just that Lowry had it, and that they drove it to Texas.

She said she missed her mother but wanted to run away.

When shown a picture of Stewart in that first interview, she said she didn't know who he was and had never seen him before.

Two days later in a second interview, Leppert told investigators she and Lowry beat and stabbed Stewart and stole his truck.

Closing arguments will take place Thursday morning; the jury will be given instructions and then the jury is expected to start deliberating by noon.

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