The preliminaries are over in the murder trial of Erica Bell, and testimony begins tomorrow in Monroe County Court.
Bell is accused of second degree murder in the beating death of three-year-old Brooke Stagles.
Prosecutor Patrick Gallagher said he’ll show that Bell admitted in jail phone calls to beating the little girl. The defense says Bell was under the domination of Michael Stagles, Brooke’s father, and that he’s the one who beat and tortured the little girl.
Gallagher asked to cross-examine Bell on three past misdemeanor convictions involving petit larceny and criminal mischief, and also about her treatment of her own children and her past drug use. He was given permission to bring up the misdemeanors.