ASHEVILLE - Trial is scheduled to continue July 21 for a former Buncombe County Sheriff's deputy and his wife charged with abusingchildren in their care, two days after District Court Judge Patricia Young denied a defense attorney's motion to close the court to the public.
The Citizen Times reported in July 2021 that Matthew and Aimee Lund were accused in arrest warrants of restricting children’s access to food, water and a bathroom. Those warrants said that the Lunds also locked the children's doors and nailed their windows shut.
Each of the Lunds are charged with multiple counts of misdemeanor contributing to the delinquency of a minor and misdemeanor child abuse.
Matthew Lund was fired from the Sheriff’s Office by Sheriff Quentin Miller on July 23, 2021, oneday after the North Carolina SBI began investigating the incident.
The Citizen Times previously reported thatLund startedworkingat the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Officeon March 25, 2013. Hismost recent position had beenas a school resource officer atOwen High School. Priorto working in Buncombe County, Lundworked at the Hendersonville Police Department for three years but was fired in 2012.
Law enforcement:Asheville police spent nearly $2.5 million on overtime in just over 2 years
More:Warrant: Swannanoa man aided, abetted Memorial Day weekend homicide
During court testimonyJuly 20, where there was no jury,defense attorneys Ted Besen, representing Matthew Lund, and Catherine Perez representing Aimee Lund, assistant district attorney Blythe McCoy as prosecutorand District Court Judge Patricia Young listened to a recorded interview with one of the children.
In the interview,which was conducted by Leah Stephens, a diagnostic interviewer atMission Hospital, the child says that to “steal food,” or eat while other family members were asleep, was against house rules. A tent that was allegedly purchased for one child to sleep in was also referenced.
Aimee Lund began to cry as the sound of the child's voice played.
Among allegations discussedJuly 19 and 20 in court:
- A lock was placed on a bedroom door, creating a safety hazard and limiting access to food, water and the bathroom.
- Locks were placed on the pantry.
- Alarms and/or wind chimes were in place to signal if children left a bedroom.
- A tent with zip-ties was purchased for one child to sleep in — either for a form of therapy, to prevent late-night binges or because one child had reportedly “inappropriately” touched another, and it might be a way to separate them at night
- One of the children accidentally ate a Delta 8 THC gummy.
On July 20, an agent with the SBI testified that she took photos of “locks” on bedroom doors. One was designed in a way where the door could not be fully opened from the inside or outside while it was fastened. Another was designed to keep the door to a different bedroom open.
It would be "inherently dangerous" for a child to be locked in a room, said Dr. Cynthia Brown, the medical director for the child abuse program at Mission Hospital. She examined one of the children and noted that the child had "a lot of insect bites."
She recommended therapy for that child.
Witnesses testified July 19 that the Lunds reportedly struggled to "potty train" at least one of the children, and that efforts were made to solve that problem. There was also testimony that one of the children reportedly "inappropriately" touched another — a potential reason for the tent. Whether the tent was actually used was not definitively answered during testimony July 19 or 20, but it was referenced by the child in the recorded interview.
A child would reportedly defecate and urinate on the floor, and once smeared feces on walls, according to testimony given.
Other stories:Wrongful death lawsuit: Widow of FDNY firefighter killed by Biltmore Estate tree sues
More:Buncombe Commission votes to approve $500,000 annually for 'future reparation budgets'
Motion to close courtroom denied
On July 19, Besenmotioned to close the courtroom to the public. It was the first day a reporter was present for the trial.
Besen at first argued that media coverage could expose the identities of minors. He later addedthat his clientdeserved a “fair trial,” and that reporting could pollute a jury pool in anyfuture case.
"That concern is not unique to your client," Judge Young said.
The Citizen Times has published multiple stories over the past year about the Lunds and the charges they face.
"It is not lost on me that the defendants do not want an open courtroom,"Young commented as she weighedher decision.
She ultimately allowed the Citizen Times to cover the trial on the condition that some specifics not be published. A reporter agreed to that arrangement.
Closing the courtroom on the second day of the trial would "feel like I'm saying anybody but the press,” shesaid when explaining her decision.
Ryan Oehrli is the breaking news and social justice reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times. Send tips to coehrli@citizentimes.com.
