Baye also contends that he was denied his right to a lawyer during the Jan. 4 interview in which he admits that the fire at 17 Fair St. was a mistake.
An updated version of this story is now available at MassLive.
Northampton arson suspect Anthony P. Baye, right, talks with his attorney David P. Hoose during a previous appearance in Hampshire Superior Court.
NORTHAMPTON - When he woke up on the morning after the Dec. 27, 2009 fires he allegedly set, Anthony P. Baye asked himself how he could have done the previous night's deeds, he told investigators.
"What was I doing last night?" he recalled thinking. "Like, why would I do that?"
Baye's recollections were part of a transcript of the Jan. 4 interview with state police investigators Michael Mazza and Paul Zipper that was played in Hampshire Superior Court on Thursday. Defense lawyers David P. Hoose and Thomas Lesser have filed motions to suppress the interview along with evidence gathered by police on the night of the fires. Judge Constance Sweeney will determine whether or not the evidence can be presented at trial.
Police stopped Baye twice on the night of the fires while he was driving in the vicinity and observed that he was wet and smelled of alcohol. It was raining hard that night. The defense maintains that the officers lacked probable cause to stop and question Baye.
Baye also contends that he was denied his right to a lawyer during the Jan. 4 interview in which he admits that the fire at 17 Fair St. fire was a mistake. That fire took the lives of Pauol Yeskie, 81, and his son, Paul Yeskie, Jr., 39. Although investigators are shown assuring Baye on several occasions that he could have a lawyer, they persuaded him that it would be in his interest to continue speaking with them.
Baye told police that he drank 13 beers on the night of the fires. Recalling the events of Dec. 29, he said, "It must have been the booze."
Baye, 26, faces two counts of first degree murder and some 40 other crimes in connection with 15 separate fires set that night. In an effort to get Baye to talk, his interrogators repeatedly assured him that they did not believe he intended to hurt anyone. Mazza told Baye that the Yeskie's died because they had modified the house so that the front door was their only exit.
"They couldn't get out of there on a good day, let alone a bad day," he said.
Mazza also said the Yeskies were hoarders and that the debris contributed to the fire's quick spread. Mutual aid from Amherst did not arrive at Fair Street for 15 minutes, a time gap he called "inexcusable."