According to prosecutors, Siraj Ibn Wahhaj teach children how to conduct shootings in schools, were taught how to use firearms, tactics to kill teachers, police and other children. In other filings, prosecutors alleged that children had told them that some of the adults at the compound had talked about dying in jihad.
They were arrested this month at a remote compound where 11 children were found living in filth and the body of a 3-year-old boy was discovered.
Lucas Morton, Subhannah Wahhaj and Hujrah Wahhaj were released Wednesday after prosecutors missed a case deadline and a judge dismissed all of the charges against them. Three days later, they found the body of a 3-year-old at the site.
Child abuse charges against three of the five adults who lived at a New Mexico compound where a child was found dead were dismissed Wednesday, court documents show.
Defendant Hujrah Wahhaj reacts as she stands with her defense lawyer Marie Legrand Miller during a hearing in Taos County District Court in Taos County, New Mexico, U.S., August 28, 2018. Gallegos said his office is now looking at two: refile the charges or take the cases before a grand jury. Allegations of anti-government plotting, jihad and martyrdom at the compound stocked with guns - drawn in part from Federal Bureau of Investigation interviews with children - has done little to persuade judges of any immediate threat to public safety.
Prosecutors could still seek charges for the three by requesting that a grand jury indict them, but as of now have offered no immediate indication on how they would proceed.
More news: Michael Cohen has information 'of interest' to Mueller: lawyerAnother hearing is planning Wednesday afternoon to deal with new charges filed against the dead boy's father, Siraj Ibn Wahhaj and his partner Jany Leveille.
The three still face a criminal trespassing case in magistrates' court in Taos County for building their makeshift settlement on a plot of land near Amalia, New Mexico, that did not belong to them, Mitsunaga said.
"Going to a grand jury allows us to get that information and vet it and not be under the 10-day window, which is quite burdensome", Gallegos said, describing state rules on due process for jailed defendants that require a quick showing of probable cause that a crime was committed.
The new charges of child abuse resulting in death against Wahhaj and Leveille are tied to an extensive account of Abdul-ghani's death in a journal that prosecutors attribute to Leveille. Children told authorities that the young boy had died in February after being denied his medicine and subjected to freaky religious rituals.
"My staff has worked diligently, professionally and ethically and I am very proud of them", Gallegos wrote.
The boy was last seen leaving his Jonesboro, Georgia, home with his father, Siraj Wahhaj, in late November. While Backus ordered all five suspects to be released to house arrest and with other strict conditions including Global Positioning System monitoring, they all remained in custody because they were not able to meet the requirements. Forensic medical investigators have not identified the cause and manner of the boy's death as they continue their analysis.
