DENVER — A Denver District Court judge on Friday set a $200,000 cash-only bond for the woman accused of beating her great-nephew to death with a back scrubber last summer.
Susan Baffour had been held without bond in connection with the death of 8-year-old Dametrious Wilson. A recent ruling by Colorado's Supreme Court found that first-degree murder defendants must be eligible for bond because the crime is no longer punishable by death in the state.
The state constitution says that bond can only be denied for “capital cases," which is defined as one potentially punishable by death. The court found that when lawmakers abolished the death penalty in 2020, there were no longer any capital offense in the state.
For most judges setting bonds for defendants charged with first-degree murder is unprecedented.
"It's hard to do, hard to set," Judge Alex Myers said. "A substantial bond is warranted."
He ultimately set Baffour's bond at $200,000 cash only with the stipulation that she not have contact with children if released. She will also be under maximum supervision, which he defined as "home confinement."
On June 3, 2022, the Denver Police Department (DPD) responded to an apartment in the 1900 block of Ulster Street after Dametrious was found unresponsive. He died from his injuries after he was allegedly beaten to death with a wooden back scrubber for what Baffour called “discipline,” according to an arrest affidavit from DPD.
She was allocated parental rights for Dametrious and his older sister in 2017 after the children were removed from their mother's custody. Baffour is currently charged with three counts:
- First-degree murder victim under 12 - position of trust.
- Child abuse - reckless causing death
- Child abuse - causing injury
The first two counts are related to the death of Dametrious. The third count is related to his older sister.
During a hearing on Thursday, Myers denied a defense motion to suppresses statements Baffour made that were recorded on body-worn cameras prior to her formal arrest in the case.
She's currently set for trial in November.
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