Hopefully someone can help me on this. In my novel (just sold, so it's time to do serious tweaking), a policewoman enters the garage of a house without a search warrant because of an odd sound she heard coming from the garage (specifically, the sound is not really a moan or sobbing, but like the sound of the cries of humpback whales). There, she discovers several teenage girls held captive by a kidnapper.
I know that it's likely that the warrantless search poisons any physical evidence the police might obtain -- it's doubtful that an "odd sound" would be sufficient to let it be admitted, especially since it is not something obvious like a kid screaming "let me out!!". The question I have is, would the rescued girls be permitted to testify against the kidnapper in court, given that their discovery and rescue was the result of the warrantless search? FYI, the specific milieu is California.
I know that it's likely that the warrantless search poisons any physical evidence the police might obtain -- it's doubtful that an "odd sound" would be sufficient to let it be admitted, especially since it is not something obvious like a kid screaming "let me out!!". The question I have is, would the rescued girls be permitted to testify against the kidnapper in court, given that their discovery and rescue was the result of the warrantless search? FYI, the specific milieu is California.