By Lora Hines
lohines@clarionledger.com

Attorneys for accused murderer Earnest Lee Hargon have asked Yazoo Circuit Court Judge Jannie Lewis to suppress a statement Hargon made to law enforcement agents the day he was on his way to court to make his first court appearance after his arrest.

Hargon, 45, is accused in the slayings of his cousin, Michael Hargon, his wife, Rebecca Hargon, and the couple's 4-year-old son, James Patrick. The family disappeared on Valentine's Day in 2004 from their Vaughan home. Their bodies were found about three weeks later - the day Earnest Lee Hargon first appeared in court - buried in woods off Mississippi 37 in Covington County .

Earnest Lee Hargon's trial is set for Nov. 28. He faces three counts of capital murder, for which he could face the death penalty.

On Monday, Earnest Lee Hargon's attorney, Wesley Evans, would not discuss the statement his client made to police on March 1, 2004, as they headed to court. He only would say that Hargon was "induced" to talk "by certain promises" the officers made.

The request to suppress Hargon's statement is among several that Evans recently made on his client's behalf. Others include jury selection and the viewing of "gruesome" photographs and evidence.

Yazoo County District Attorney James Powell couldn't be reached Monday for comment.

But other attorneys and legal experts said Evans' requests are typical in preparation for a capital murder case.

"This is the most common thing in the world," said Matt Steffey, a law professor at Mississippi College 's School of Law . "It happens all the time."

He said defense attorneys routinely try to suppress statements and evidence before trial. Before trial, a hearing will be held at which the judge will decide which of those motions have merit.

"It's housekeeping before trial," Steffey said. "(Motions) are just a way to test the legal system. Attorneys have to make arguments even if they're not successful."