MADISON, Wis. -- A judge on Friday in a Portage child abuse and murder case granted the defense's request to drop initial comments 24-year-old Candace Clark made from her trial.

Police said Clark told investigators she was on the run from the law in Florida.

Authorities said that Clark and her boyfriend, Michael Sisk, were the leaders of a gang of drifters accused of torturing an 11-year-old boy and killing his mother.

Earlier this month, a judge also granted a motion to suppress statements between Clark and a probation agent who interrogated her.

Candace Clark's attorney, David Geier, claimed in court documents that state probation agent David Ford visited Clark in jail in May. Ford told Clark that he was gathering information for a pre-sentence report for Michaela Clerc, another member of Clark's alleged group who pleaded guilty in February to torturing the slain woman's son and stuffing him in a closet.

Geier argued that Ford improperly asked Clark about her role in the case. A Columbia County judge granted Geier's motion to bar testimony at Clark's July trial from Ford about their conversation. Geier also asked the judge for a gag order on Ford, but the judge refused.