A Preliminary Hearing was held before Judge Diane Vitello in Niagara County Youth Part today for the 17 year old charged with the murder of Cheyenne Farewell. The defendant was held in custody for the action of the grand jury after today’s hearing.

“Despite the legal arguments made by the defense in court today, we are comfortable that the proper legal safeguards were followed by the Lockport Police Department when interviewing the juveniles involved in this case. The admissibility of the defendant’s statements will be litigated at a later date. We are confident the protocols set forth in the Raise the Age legislation, particularly those involving parental notification, were followed despite the arguments raised by defense counsel and the questions posed to the witnesses in today’s hearing,” District Attorney Caroline Wojtaszek stated.

Please be aware that the defendants in this case are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.