The Maryland Court of Appeals has ruled that text messages between husband and wife in the 2016 trial for a Pocomoke City man accused of murdering his nephew were not subject to marital privilege.
The ruling will serve as an example of when texts between spouses can be used as evidence during criminal trials. Maryland law stipulates that communications between spouses during their marriage that is meant to remain private cannot be used at trial.
In September 2016, Kevin Sewell was convicted of first-degree murder, first-degree child abuse and neglect of a child in connection with the death of his 3-year-old nephew Luke Hill.
Sewell had been watching Hill, along with his own children, in May 2015 while his wife was at work. However, when his wife brought Hill home to his parents, a news release from the Maryland Attorney General's Office shows the boy was "unresponsive" and had suffered "multiple bruises."
Autopsy reports showed he had sustained several blows to his head and body, according to the release. His death was a result of those injuries.
Following his conviction, Sewell was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. But the Attorney General's Office said the Maryland Court of Special Appeals reversed the conviction in March 2018, ruling that text messages between Sewell and his wife that were introduced during the trial "were subject to marital privilege and should have been excluded."..
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