SBS: West Virginia: Michael Fannin indicted in connection with baby's death

June 30, 2011 CURTIS JOHNSON : The Herald-Dispatch

HUNTINGTON -- A 41-year-old man from Huntington has been indicted in a shaken baby case, which investigators say led to the death of 4-month-old Emma Beatty.
The indictment against Michael Allen Fannin was unsealed Wednesday. It charges death of a child by a parent, guardian, custodian or other person by child abuse.
Fannin will be arraigned Wednesday, July 13, before Cabell Circuit Judge Paul T. Farrell. The allegation carries a possible 10- to 40-year prison sentence.
A criminal complaint states Emma, who was born in January, was hospitalized with severe head trauma and other life-threatening injuries Friday, April 29, at Cabell Huntington Hospital. She died three days later.
The complaint further states the girl's mother, Melissa Beatty, said she left her daughter in the care of Fannin at his Marcum Terrace apartment when she went to work at 6:30 a.m., April 29.
The complaint charges Fannin contacted her at 8:30 a.m., saying he had dropped Emma Beatty on the couch after a screen door slammed and startled them. She said Fannin told her the infant hadn't been "acting right" since the fall, and she was transported to St. Mary's Medical Center before being transferred to intensive care at Cabell Huntington. That is when authorities stepped in.
Trooper W.G. Hash of the West Virginia State Police and a doctor from Cabell Huntington Hospital were later questioned at a preliminary hearing. Hash testified that Fannin's story had changed, while the doctor said the baby's brain injuries were consistent shaken baby syndrome.
Fannin remains jailed on a $1 million cash bond.
http://www.herald-dispatch.com/news/x2066642/Man-indicted-in-connection-with-babys-death

SBS: West Virginia: Michael Fannin accused

May 14, 2011

HUNTINGTON -- The case against 41-year-old Michael Fannin, who is accused in the shaking death of 4-month old Emma Beatty, was bound over to the grand jury by Cabell County Magistrate Dan Goheen Friday.

The criminal complaint stated that Emma Beatty, who was born in January, was hospitalized with severe head trauma and other life-threatening injuries two weeks ago at Cabell Huntington Hospital. She died threedays later.
The criminal complaint stated Melissa Beatty, the girl's mother, said she left her daughter in the care of Fannin at his Marcum Terrace apartment when she went to work at 6:30 a.m. Friday.
Beatty said Fannin contacted her at 8:30 a.m., saying he had dropped Emma on the couch after a screen door slammed and startled them, the complaint said. Beatty said Fannin told her Emma hadn't been "acting right" since the fall, and she was transported to St. Mary's Medical Center before being transferred to the PICU at Cabell Huntington, which is when authorities stepped in, according to the complaint.
Trooper W.G. Hash of the West Virginia State Police and a doctor from Cabell Huntington Hospital testified in Friday's preliminary hearing. Hash testified that Fannin's story had changed, while the doctor said the baby's brain injuries were consistent shaken baby syndrome.
Fannin is charged with felony child abuse by a parent, guardian or custodian leading to death. He remains held on $1 million cash bond.
http://www.herald-dispatch.com/news/x1541155529/Shaken-baby-case-goes-to-grand-jury

SBS: West Virginia: baby-sitter Michael Fannin arrested

May 3, 2011

Police say a Huntington man shook a 4-month-old baby to death last weekend while he was babysitting the child.

On Saturday, the girl was brought into Cabell Huntington Hospital suffering from "severe head trauma and other life threatening injuries," that had occurred the previous day, according to State Police.
The infant died on Monday as a result of her injuries. Doctors told troopers the baby died from a severe case of shaken baby syndrome.
Senior Trooper W.G. Hash investigated the incident and arrested Michael Fannin, 41. According to Hash, Fannin was a friend of the child's mother and was babysitting at his Marcum Terrace residence when the incident happened.
Fannin faces charges of child abuse by a parent, guardian or custodian leading to death.
He was arraigned in Cabell County Magistrate Court and is being held on a $1 million cash only bond at the Western Regional Jail.
http://wvgazette.com/News/201105030914

SIDS: West Virginia: Leslie Erin Boggs

February 19, 2011

Leslie Erin Boggs was in custody on a $500,000 cash bond two days after being charged with child neglect resulting in death.

(CNN) -- More than eight months after claiming that her 3-month-old baby mysteriously died overnight, a West Virginia mother now stands accused of drunkenly falling on the child and smothering her to death.

Investigators said Friday that Leslie Erin Boggs' story has long seemed inconsistent with the medical examiner's report on the death of Raynna Rea Boggs in May. But they did not proceed with their case until her newlywed husband, Thomas Myers, gave a fuller account last month of what he said he saw the morning of the baby girl's death.
"She got wasted, she got drunk, she got high, and she fell asleep and rolled over on the child," Kanawha County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Plant said Friday night on HLN's "Nancy Grace," summarizing authorities' belief of how the baby died.
As of Friday, Boggs was in custody on a $500,000 cash bond, two days after being charged with child neglect resulting in death.

The woman's attorney, Richard Holicker, released a statement emphasizing that the allegations against his client "are just that -- allegations."
"Ms. Boggs adamantly asserts her absolute innocence, and we wish the prosecuting attorney would try this case in court and not in the media," Holicker said.
Boggs claimed that she had fed and changed the baby at her South Charleston apartment, then came back to find the baby unresponsive after doing some cleaning.
The medical examiner determined that Raynna died of asphyxiation, also noting that part of her head appeared to be pushed in and her face was blue. Investigators said that these findings, including the baby's body temperature when seen by a coroner, didn't seem to jibe with Boggs' account, which suggested sudden infant death syndrome.
The case took a key turn when authorities decided to follow up with Myers after learning he was incarcerated for a probation violation, South Charleston police Detective A.R. Gordon said.
According to the criminal complaint that led to the charges Wednesday against Boggs, Myers told authorities that he and his then-girlfriend "had been drinking and using drugs the previous evening and earlier (the) morning" of the infant's death.
"When he woke up that morning, he observed the defendant 'passed out' on the floor," the complaint reads. "As he was walking around (Boggs') body, he observed Raynna's legs sticking out from underneath her ... The defendant's leg was over Raynna's body."
Myers said that he then took Boggs off the baby, who he noticed was blue with her head pushed in. He believed, right away, that Raynna was dead, the complaint said.
According to the complaint, Myers claimed Boggs' mother gave her daughter gum at the hospital in "an attempt to conceal the odor of alcohol on her breath."
Plant, the prosecutor, said that going back to a previous witness is not unusual, especially when it's a family member, nor finding that their story changes.
Myers has since been released from jail.
"I believe that Mr. Myers knew that this was wrong that this happened," Gordon added. "He knew wrong was wrong, and the best thing to do was to relay the information to us."
What makes Myers' account relevant, said Plant, is that it is "consistent with the allegations in the complaint from the medical examiner's report."
"It's always good to have witness testimony corroborate the physical evidence," he said.
Appearing on a September airing of "Swift Justice Nancy Grace," Boggs acknowledged that she occasionally passed out -- in the company of others and "also alone."
"I'm dealing with my daughter's death," said Boggs, who appeared on the program to face off against Raynna's biological father and her ex-boyfriend, Eric Gillespie, for monetary claims. "I'm dealing with a lot of stuff."
Around the time that show aired, Boggs was arrested in West Virginia on charges of entering a vehicle, petty theft and possession of a controlled substance after allegedly stealing 38 suboxone pills from a black Jeep.
Shortly thereafter, on October 10, Boggs posted on her MySpace page that she was marrying Myers.
Plant said Friday that, if convicted on the child neglect resulting in death charge, Boggs would face between three and 15 years behind bars. But he didn't rule out more severe charges, especially if it was determined that the woman willfully and maliciously killed her baby.

"We're not stuck to this charge," he said. "Once I see the (final) report, we'll make a determination."

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/02/18/west.virginia.mother.smothering/?hpt=T2

SBS: West Virginia: Ian Kessinger

Feb 10, 2011, Jessica

Ian Kessinger screen shot via WSAZ News Channel 3

 

A West Virginia man has admitted to the brutal torture and shaking of his infant son who is only but a few months old. The father, Ian Kessinger, 30, also has a two year old daughter who he says he has not abused and two other children whom which he does not have custody of. The infant’s injuries were found when he was brought to a routine checkup and the pediatrician noticed some abnormalities. The doctor recommended that the baby be admitted to the hospital where scans revealed that the baby had a fractured skull, a broken collar bone and a broken wrist. Authorities believe these injuries accumulated over several incidents.

Ian Kessinger is reportedly showing remorse but blames his anger issues on drugs and alcohol. At this time, the mother, Emily Sayre, 31, is not currently being charged with a crime because police believe she didn’t know about the abuse, although it’s hard to imagine such serious injuries would go unnoticed. The couple is not married although sources say they have been together for many years. Kessinger is currently being held on a $75,000 bond, charged with felony child abuse and if convicted will only serve between 2 – 10 years.

SBS: West Virginia: Gary Lee Hensley

Prestonsburg Police say a man arrested on child abuse charges turns out to be a fugitive from Ohio.

35 year old Gary Lee Hensley is accused of severely beating his own baby.

Police discovered he allegedly fled from custody in Ohio before moving to Floyd County.

Prestonsburg Police say doctors at Highlands Regional Medical Center called officers to the hospital Saturday night after an ambulance brought in a seven week old baby.

“There were injuries that would range from fractures to bleeding around the brain. It's an obvious sign of shaken baby syndrome,” Detective Steve Little said.

Investigators questioned the parents, 30 year old Rachel Ousley and 35 year old Gary Hensley and charged them in connection with alleged abuse. Hensley is facing first degree assault charges. When officers arrested him, they discovered he is a wanted fugitive from Ohio.

“My indication was he walked away from a halfway house there,” Detective Little said.

Gary Hensley turned down our request for a jailhouse interview. He is being held at the detention center on a half million dollar bond.

Investigators say the seven week old baby boy has broken legs and severe head trauma. He is now at Cabell-Huntington Hospital in West Virginia.

Police say the child is now in social services custody.

http://www.wkyt.com/wymtnews/headlines/Man_arrested_on_child_abuse_charges_is_a_fugitive_from_Ohio_113305599.html

SBS: Merrifield, West Virginia

http://sundaygazettemail.com/News/201009230638

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The West Virginia Supreme Court has refused to review the case of a Putnam County man who was convicted two years ago of sexually abusing and killing his then-girlfriend's 2-year-old son.
Michael Kent Merrifield, 34, is serving a life sentence without parole for the 2005 slaying.
Merrifield's lawyer, Lonnie Simmons, appealed Merrifield's conviction to the Supreme Court, saying the evidence used to convict Merrifield was insufficient.
The boy, Logan Goodall was sick the day of his death. His mother, Pepper Eren, testified in 2008 that he was lethargic and wouldn't eat. Eren still went to work, and left her son with Merrifield. The boy died 40 minutes later.
After an autopsy, state Medical Examiner James Kaplan determined that the boy died from a head injury consistent with shaken-baby syndrome and a laceration to his pancreas, which caused internal bleeding.
Prosecutors argued that Merrifield "intentionally and maliciously refused to seek help" for the sick child, resulting in his death, according to the appeal. Simmons argued that since the state medical examiner testified that there was only a possibility that prompt medical care could have prevented the boy from dying, that the charges should have been dropped.
"In other words, it's not as if there's a snap shot," Simmons said Thursday. "Here's the injury at this point, here's who did it'"
Simmons argues that it's not clear that the boy died because of injuries sustained after the 40 minutes Eren left for work. He cites several findings from Kaplan who, during the autopsy, lists several days-old injuries that could have caused the boys death.
The older injuries could have been inflicted by anyone other than Merrifield, Simmons said. Prosecutors would have been forced to provide new evidence linking Merrifield to those injuries.
"To be fair, from the state's perspective, there's no question that there was some interaction," Simmons said, adding that Merrifield did admit to shaking the child, "but it doesn't answer the causation problem about lack of medical care causing the death.
Simmons also said the case should have been tried in a different jurisdiction, since public outcry and media coverage might have swayed the jury to find his client guilty.

 

Gazette file photo

Michael Kent Merifield

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http://sundaygazettemail.com/News/201009230638