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SOUTH BEND — Former Notre Dame offensive coordinator Michael Haywood, charged with battering his son’s mother, today asked a judge to lift an order barring any contact with her so that he can spend this weekend at his home with the boy and the woman.
Haywood’s attorney, Andre Gammage, told St. Joseph Superior Judge Jane Woodward Miller that the woman also wants the order vacated.
After deputy prosecutor Christi Haws objected, Miller left the order intact, but set a hearing for Friday at which time she wants the woman to come into court and testify under oath that she wants the no-contact order vacated.
Haws said the woman has indicated to the prosecutor’s office her belief that she does not need the no-contact order because she already has a protective order against Haywood in their child custody case, which is a civil matter.
But Haws noted that a civil protective order and a criminal no-contact order are different things, and the state wants Miller to make sure the alleged victim understands the differences.
Also at the initial hearing, Haywood formally entered a "not guilty" plea and Miller set a March 10 trial date.
Gammage said lifting the order would allow Haywood to have some time with the boy today. But Haws said their visit can be coordinated by a third party, eliminating the need for any direct contact between Haywood and the boy’s mother.
Haywood told the judge that he and the woman also have agreed that he will stay at his home this weekend with the boy and the woman, who both live there.
Police arrested Haywood Dec. 31 at his home in Northwood Hills, an upscale subdivision off of Portage Road. He faces a Class D felony charge of domestic battery in the presence of a minor.
Prosecutors say Haywood pushed and hurt the woman during an argument over custody of the boy. Haywood told police she fell over a wheelbarrow in the garage after he pushed her off of him because she had grabbed his shirt. She had the boy in the backseat and planned to leave the home with him, but Haywood wanted to remove the boy from the car, he told police.
The University of Pittsburgh on Dec. 16 hired Haywood as its head coach, but fired him just a few hours after his release from jail the next day.
Police responded to the home after the woman called 911. At today’s hearing, the state gave Gammage a tape of the 911 call, after Gammage requested it on Haywood’s behalf.
The Tribune requested a copy of the tape from county police, but police spokesman Sgt. William Redman declined to release it. Redman said Prosecutor Michael Dvorak confirmed that he ha asked Redman not to release the tape because he plans to use it in the case against Haywood.
Indiana statute exempts from public disclosure records that law enforcement officials deem investigatory in nature. Dvorak said releasing the tape now could contaminate potential jurors, should the case make it to trial.