Innocence of Victim's Mother Questionned

The innocence of the mother of a murdered infant was drawn into question today.

Delice Sharon Preston, the mother of a 7-month-old baby found dead of blunt force trauma in her Anza mobile home, took the stand for the second time during the trial of her ex-boyfriend, Dannei Joe Farnum, 30.

The defendant was accused of killing the baby, John Thomas "Tommy" Gonzales Jr., on November 10, 2008, in the 40000 block of Apple Road.

Both defense attorneys and a prosecutor asked the child's mother several times during cross-examination whether she killed her son.

"You're feeling guilty for killing your own son, and for (Farnum) being charged for it, aren't you?" Gregory Henderson said to Preston during questioning.

Discrepancies between Preston's testimony and some evidence caused the skepticism.

Since her son's death, she was forced to attend rehabilitation for her marijuana and methamphetamine addiction. During rehab, she was asked to write letters to people she harmed due to her drug addiction, she testified today.

One of the letters was addressed to Farnum, who was in jail. She praised him for being a good person in it and said she felt guilty for Tommy's death.

Why would she praise Farnum for being a good person and say she felt guilty if she believed Farnum killed her son, Henderson asked her.

"I was feeling very disappointed with myself. I wasn't a very good mother for my kids," she said. "I put them in that situation."

Henderson hinted that the woman had a motive to kill her son during the questioning. "You're the only one who had a motive to kill your son. You killed him, didn't you?" he said.

When asked after the hearing what that motive was, he declined to tell and said it would come to light later in the trial.

Prior conviction

Preston was tried and convicted of being an accessory to her son's murder, she testified today.

She served five months behind bars and is serving three years of probation.

Preston and Farnum often did methamphetamine together, though they were sober on the day Tommy died, she said.

The infant had rashes on his legs and arms -- Preston said she did not notice -- and several deceases and infections, including one that kept his eyes swollen shut and sealed in crust.

The living condition of the child's home was unsanitary and "smelled like a petting zoo," according to investigators.

Child Protective Services were called to the house on the day of the victim's death.

To see a photo gallery of the mobile home, .

She testified on Tuesday that she went to a nearby store on the day of the child's death, and a few minutes after she returned, Farnum checked on the baby, then ran out of the room shouting that he was not breathing.

An autopsy revealed massive fractures in the child's skull, bleeding in the brain, a black eye and a dark red wound near the ear, according to investigators who testified.

To read more about this testimony, .

Couple turns on each other

As an interrogation tactic, investigators left the couple in a room alone together and recorded the conversation.

They discussed what might have happened on the day of the killing.

"Dannie, I don't want to believe you did this, but what choice do I have?" Preston asked Farnum.

Several times, she blurted out that she never hurt her son with little or no provocation in the recording.

"I didn't do anything," Preston said. "Somebody did something," Farnum responded.

They discussed the possibility that Farnum's 2-year-old son hit the baby with a Maglite flashlight because he did the same thing earlier that day to his daughter.

"Look at me. Do you think they are capable?" Preston asked Farnum.

"Yes, and to say that about my children is really hard," he said as he started to cry.

She was under the influence of methamphetamine when she was interviewed by investigators, she testified.

Farnum's daughter she saw her dad shake the infant and drop him on the street in a fit of anger, she testified on Monday.

Farnum told Preston he thought his daughter told investigators he did something wrong, so he asked her about it. She told Farnum somebody told her to say those things. He asked who, and she shrugged her shoulders and ignored him, according to the recorded conversation.

"I'm not going down for this," Preston blurted out during the discussion.

CORRECTION: The last name of the victim and the age of one of Dannie Joe Farnum's children was changed from the original version. Also, information was corrected about a visit from Child Protective Services.