SBS: Coloradfo: Shawna Nacke indicted

Randy Wyrick: 

October, 21 2011

LEADVILLE, Colorado — Lake County social services took a 7-month-old boy away from his parents, and the woman they placed him with is now charged with felony child abuse after allegedly inflicting injuries that may leave the child blind.
A grand jury indicted Shawna Nacke, of Leadville, on two felony counts of child abuse and one misdemeanor count. Nacke turned herself in and is free on $20,000 bond.
The case goes directly to Lake County District Court and Judge Karen Romeo.
Nacke faces up to 32 years in prison. The grand jury indicted her on charges of:
• Class 3 felony child abuse. Knowingly or recklessly causing serious bodily to a child.
• Class 4 felony child abuse. Negligently causing serious bodily injury to a child.
• Class 2 misdemeanor child abuse. Negligently causing bodily injury to a child.
District Attorney Mark Hurlbert says they don't know yet whether they'll go for the maximum sentence.
Nacke makes her first court appearance Nov. 28.
The boy was shaken enough that he suffered “significant” brain swelling and had to have surgery to relieve the pressure, Hurlbert said.
“He's alive. There's the potential that he could be blind,” Hurlbert said.

What the police report says

At about 8 a.m. July 15, Leadville police responded to 321 Mount Harvard in Leadville when Nacke called them about an unresponsive baby, according to the arrest affidavit.
When police and paramedics arrived, the baby was taken to Saint Vincent's hospital, and quickly flown by Flight for Life to Children's Hospital in Aurora. Firefighters reported the baby was breathing on its own, that its right eye was partially closed and its left eye was open and the pupil was dilated. Its right leg had multiple bruises, Leadville/Lake County fire fighter John Ortiz said in the arrest affidavit.
Nacke agreed to speak to police and told them a toy being dropped on him by his brother caused the child's bruises, himself a toddler, that the toddler tripped and fell on him, and the leg bruises were caused by a swing.
When the boy woke up that morning, Nacke called 911 when she thought the boy was having a seizure, she told police.
Their father, Donald Nacke, had been to their house the previous night after she had gone to work, so he could put his children to bed.
Social services placed the children with Shawna Nacke and her husband because their mother has substance abuse issues, she told police. The children's father is Nacke's husband's brother.
She told police she would take a polygraph test, the affidavit says.
Dr. Lisa Zwerlinger told police that the child's mother used alcohol and drugs while she was pregnant, and as a result the child “developmentally challenged.” He's nine months old and cannot roll over on his own, according to the doctor's statement in the arrest affidavit.

Grand jury convened

Dr. Andy Sirotnick, associate professor of pediatrics and a member of the child protection team at Children's Hospital, testified that the boy's injuries would not have happened the night before, saying that if the injury had happened the night before the boy would not have survived.
The boy is going to be blind due to being a victim of shaken baby syndrome, and that because Nacke was the only adult at the residence when emergency services were called, “we can conclude that Mrs. Nacke caused the injuries,” according to Sirotnick's statement in the arrest affidavit.
This was only the second Fifth Judicial District grand jury convened since the 1960s, Hurlbert said.
Judge Romeo convened the 12-person grand jury from around the Fifth Judicial District's four counties: Eagle, Summit, Lake and Clear Creek.
They heard five days of testimony before indicting Nacke on Oct. 5.
Staff Writer Randy Wyrick can be reached at 970-748-2935 or rwyrick@vaildaily.com.

http://www.vaildaily.com/article/20111021/NEWS/111029956/1078&ParentProfile=1062

SBS: Colorado: Rocky Lee Ankney charged with child abuse

DENVER - There is a beautiful cake, hundreds of balloons and a house full of loved ones. It is a celebration, but it is more complicated than most first birthday parties.

Jasmine is 1 year old. Most people did not expect Jasmine to see this day.

"When she was injured, the doctors told us she probably would not survive the week," Jasmine's mom, Jennifer Schutz, said.

Schutz says this birthday is about celebrating survival.

Jasmine's father, Rocky Lee Ankney, is in jail. The Denver District Attorney has charged him with child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury. Prosecutors say he injured Jasmine when she was 8 weeks old.

Schutz was at work as a geriatric nurse when it happened. Denver Police say Ankney did not call 911, but he called his wife claiming he dropped the baby as he got her out of the bathtub.

Detectives and doctors say Jasmine's injuries could not have been caused by a simple fall. Her ribs were broken. Her brain was bruised and bleeding on both sides of her head. She lost her vision.

"You wouldn't think your husband would do it. He quit his job to stay home with her. Nothing about it makes any sense," Schutz said.

She says he had been loving to her 10-year-old daughter and never shown signs of aggression to her.

Shaken baby syndrome is the leading cause of trauma death in children under 2 years old in Colorado. When Schutz started learning more about it, she made a promise to Jasmine to be part of the solution.

She made adult goody bags for everyone at the birthday party. Every guest left with a colorful bag filled with resources and information about shaken baby syndrome. She hopes their friends will join her in helping to protect other children.

Jasmine can't do what other children her age do. She should be close to taking her first steps and saying her first words, but that may be a long ways off, if it happens at all.

It is a big accomplishment in physical therapy for Jasmine to hold her head up for a few seconds. When she does it, her mom and her therapist cheer: "Look at that big girl holding her head up. Good job!"

Leslie Watson is a pediatric physical therapist. She works with Jasmine three days a week. An occupational therapist comes two days a week.

"Jasmine is 1, but she is not even at a 6-month-old level in the way she functions," Watson said.

Schutz says her daughter isn't sitting up or rolling over yet.

"She is trying to, but she isn't. Maybe one day she will," she said.

The "maybe" is the most difficult part. Schutz doesn't know if she'll ever hear her daughter say "Mom."

Watson works with Jasmine on a big pink therapy ball. She says the progress this year has been slow.

"When you have a baby that was born with all the potential to be all that she can be and then have something horrific happen from someone who is supposed to protect her; that is very difficult," Watson said.

Jasmine survived this year. No one knows what the ones ahead will bring, but Schutz knows one thing for certain: She says she and Jasmine will work to prevent child abuse of any kind for as many years as they have together.

http://www.9news.com/dontmiss/197092/630/Mother-of-shaken-baby-Nothing-about-it-makes-any-sense-

SBS: Colorado; Tember Rector court of appeals decision reversed by Supreme Court

PEOPLE v. RECTOR

The People of the State of Colorado, Petitioner,

v.

Tember Terri Rector, Respondent.

John W. Suthers, Attorney General, Susan Eileen Friedman, Assistant Attorney General, Denver, Colorado, Attorneys for Petitioner.

Paul Grant, Parker, Colorado, Attorney for Respondent.

---

JUSTICE RICE delivered the Opinion of the Court.

A jury convicted respondent, Tember Rector, of felony child abuse. The court of appeals reversed the conviction, concluding that the trial court abused its discretion by failing to make sufficient findings regarding the reliability and potential prejudice of an expert's testimony and by failing to instruct the jury on the difference between medical and legal child abuse. We granted certiorari to review two of the evidentiary issues.¹ We now reverse the court of appeals.

I. Facts and Proceedings Below

Tember Rector and her husband were three-year-old T.D.'s foster parents in 2004. T.D. suffered a severe head injury on February 2, 2004, while in Rector's care. Conflicting testimony was presented at trial regarding Rector's whereabouts during the time the injury occurred. Rector testified that she did not witness T.D.'s injury because she was in the shower while T.D. was watching television on the bed in the master bedroom. Rector testified that she heard a crash and jumped out of the shower to find T.D. sitting on the floor with his arm twisted and the contents of the nightstand knocked to the floor. In contrast, the responding paramedic testified that Rector told him she was downstairs when she heard the crash upstairs.

Rector called 9-1-1 and the Castle Rock Fire Department was dispatched to Rector's home. The People presented evidence that Rector waited forty-five minutes before calling for medical assistance. When the paramedics arrived, they found T.D. unconscious, unresponsive, and exhibiting signs of severe head trauma. T.D. was taken to the closest hospital and from there airlifted to Children's Hospital. The treating physicians diagnosed T.D. with non-accidental head trauma. T.D. suffered life-threatening brain injuries that included retinal hemorrhaging in both eyes and a right-side acute subdural hematoma that caused significant bleeding and swelling in his brain. T.D. underwent emergency neurosurgery at Children's Hospital to alleviate the pressure in his brain and survived the injury. Rector was charged with felony child abuse under section 18-6-401(1)(a) and (7)(a)(III), C.R.S. (2010).²

Prior to trial, Rector's counsel submitted a motion entitled Defense Motion to Restrict People's Experts Including Ken Winston from Making Medical Speculation. In that motion, Rector sought to exclude any speculative testimony by the People's experts and asked to have an evidentiary hearing in accordance with People v. Shreck, 22 P.3d 68 (Colo. 2001). Rector's motion was general in nature and specifically challenged only one expert, Dr. Ken Winston, and only with respect to testimony about shaken-baby syndrome. At a hearing held as a result of this and other motions, Rector argued that she was entitled to a Shreck hearing "to determine whether or not . . . [the] diagnosis and opinions that [we]re going to be used at trial by medical experts who were inferring a cause from the evidence . . . [were] reliable." Rector did not, however, point to specific expert testimony that she sought to exclude — other than shaken-baby syndrome testimony — and she argued that she required additional expert discovery. The trial court denied a Shreck hearing on shaken-baby syndrome, ordered additional expert discovery, and deemed the request for a Shreck hearing premature in light of the requested additional expert discovery. Rector did not make another request for a Shreck hearing.

Later, at the trial, several of T.D.'s treating physicians testified as medical experts for the People, including Dr. Andrew Sirotnak, a pediatrician and Director of the Child Protection Team, who examined T.D. at Children's Hospital; Dr. Arlene Drack, a pediatric ophthalmologist, who examined T.D. at the emergency room; and Dr. Ken Winston, the neurosurgeon who performed T.D.'s emergency surgery. They each testified to the severity of T.D.'s injuries and opined that the injuries were non-accidental or inflicted and unlikely to have been caused by a fall from a bed.

Prior to Dr. Sirotnak's testimony regarding T.D., the prosecution established Dr. Sirotnak's qualifications and moved for his admission as an expert in the fields of pediatric medicine and child abuse under CRE 702. Rector's counsel requested an opportunity to examine Dr. Sirotnak about his qualifications, but did not inquire about Dr. Sirotnak's qualifications or introduce any evidence to suggest he was not qualified in pediatrics or child abuse. Instead, Rector's counsel asked Dr. Sirotnak about the different definitions of medical child abuse and legal child abuse. Dr. Sirotnak declined to provide a legal definition of child abuse, but acknowledged that the legal definition of child abuse differs from the medical definition. Rector's counsel then stated that he objected to Dr. Sirotnak's qualification as an expert in the field of child abuse, but that he did not object to Dr. Sirotnak "rendering opinions about his understanding of the medical use of the term child abuse." The trial court admitted Dr. Sirotnak as an expert in pediatrics and child abuse.³

Dr. Sirotnak then testified that T.D. suffered a right-sided acute subdural hemorrhage, a shift in the tissue of the brain, and retinal hemorrhages. Dr. Sirotnak testified that his responsibilities at Children's Hospital included evaluating and diagnosing patients when abuse or neglect was suspected. According to Dr. Sirotnak, the medical diagnosis of child physical abuse takes into consideration the presence of a severe traumatic injury with no history of trauma to explain that injury. Dr. Sirotnak stated that the explanation offered by Rector did not account for the severity of T.D.'s injuries. Dr. Sirotnak concluded that, in his expert opinion, within a reasonable degree of medical certainty, T.D.'s injuries were the result of abuse. Rector's counsel made no objection to Dr. Sirotnak's trial testimony.

A jury convicted Rector of felony child abuse. She was sentenced to fifteen years in prison plus five years of mandatory parole. Rector appealed her conviction, arguing, among other issues, that the trial court erred in denying her a Shreck hearing related to Dr. Sirotnak's testimony regarding medical child abuse. The court of appeals reversed Rector's conviction and remanded for a new trial, concluding that the trial court abused its discretion in failing to make adequate inquiry or specific findings regarding the reliability and potential prejudice of Dr. Sirotnak's testimony under Shreck. The court of appeals further determined that Dr. Sirotnak's testimony that T.D.'s injuries resulted from child abuse was not proper because such testimony concerned the ultimate legal determination of Rector's guilt.⁴

^{PART EXCISED}

III. Conclusion

The trial court did not abuse its discretion when it declined to hold a Shreck hearing. Rector's pretrial Shreck motion challenged testimony by Dr. Winston about shaken-baby syndrome — a diagnosis none of the experts intended to offer. The pretrial motion did not challenge testimony by Dr. Sirotnak or the medical diagnosis of child abuse and no subsequent Shreck challenge was raised. Likewise, no contemporaneous objection was made during Dr. Sirotnak's trial testimony to alert the trial court that Rector challenged the expert testimony as to reliability or prejudice. Whether Dr. Sirotnak's testimony about medical child abuse usurped the role of the jury was not properly before the court of appeals, nor did the admission of the testimony amount to plain error. Accordingly, we reverse the court of appeals.

March 14, 2011.

Supreme Court of Colorado, EN BANC.

Case No. 09SC708.

SBS: Campos, Colorado

Vanessa Miller

: 10/28/2010

The father of a Lafayette infant who died last week after suffering multiple injuries -- including broken bones and brain hemorrhaging -- was arrested Thursday night on suspicion of child abuse resulting in death.
Lafayette police have been investigating the death of 10-week-old Lyon Campos since he was rushed to the hospital Oct. 18 after his father, Joaquin Campos, said he fell down the stairs while holding the baby. Lyon died the night of Oct. 20, and officers said Campos was cooperating with the investigation until Thursday.
Lafayette police received information Thursday that Campos, 21, was talking about fleeing the area, said Cmdr. Gene McCausey, so officers went to his home at 1927 Lydia Drive to arrest him on a warrant out of Commerce City and talk to him more about their child abuse investigation.
"We explained to him that he was under arrest, and he flipped out," McCausey said. "He physically fought with officers and was taken into custody with minor injuries."
Campos was booked into the Boulder County Jail on suspicion of charges including resisting arrest and second-degree assault on a police officer, McCausey said. After investigators interviewed Campos at the jail, they recommended a separate set of charges in connection with his son's death, including knowing and reckless child abuse resulting in death.
The department also is recommending that charges of child abuse and domestic violence be filed in connection with an earlier incident that his wife reported, McCausey said.
Campos suffered bruises during Thursday's arrest, and no officers were hurt, McCausey said.
"He had been cooperating with us, and that's why we didn't arrest him earlier," he said.
Lafayette police first responded to a 911 call at the Lydia Drive home about 7:22 a.m. Oct. 18 after Campos said he fell down the stairs while holding the baby. Lyon was taken to Exempla Good Samaritan Hospital in Lafayette, where he was treated and released.
Police were called back to the same address at 7:48 p.m. on a report that the infant was not breathing. He was taken back to Exempla, then airlifted to Children's Hospital in Aurora, where he later died.
McCausey said Lyon didn't have any significant injuries when he went to the hospital in the morning, and investigators suspect Campos did something to cause the fatal injuries to the child during the day.
"From the injuries to the baby, clearly something happened other than falling down the steps," McCausey said.
The infant had broken ribs, broken femurs in both legs and hemorrhaging in the brain when he was brought to the hospital the second time, according to McCausey.
"There were typical shaken-baby-type injuries," he said. "He had internal head injuries."
Campos was the one who called authorities both times, and the child's mother was not at home that day, McCausey said.
Boulder County District Attorney Stan Garnett said his office hasn't yet decided what charges to file against Campos based on the police recommendations.
"I think there is probable cause to take him into custody on the issues related to his child's death," Garnett said. "We will carefully review the evidence developed in the investigation and make a determination which charges to actually file Friday or early next week."
http://www.dailycamera.com/boulder-county-news/ci_16462634

SBS: Dailey, Denver, Colorado, pleads guilty in 8-week-old son's death

Stephen Dailey, 21, faces up to 38 years in prison for causing his son's death after he pleaded guilty to child abuse resulting in death in a Denver courtroom on Friday.
Investigators say the abuse happened on Sept. 25, 2009, when Matthew was 8 weeks, 2 days old. He was taken off life-support and died six weeks later.
Dailey was initially charged with first-degree murder, but pleaded guilty as part of a plea deal.
"Investigators said he (Matthew) was shaken and violently thrown against furniture and had gone without oxygen for quite some time. Then my husband at the time called 911," said Valerie Cox, Matthew's mother.
Cox got the call while she was at the grocery store on a quick errand. She'd fed her baby and left him at home sleeping 15 minutes earlier.
"They told me Matthew was not OK and I had to get to the hospital. My heart stopped and I took a deep breath. I threw my cart and ran out of the store," she said. "There isn't a moment that goes by that I don't think about him."
She says she never expected this could happen. She says she and her former husband had planned the pregnancy and were thrilled when their son was born.
"I remember Stephen carried him around everywhere saying, 'This is my baby!' " she said.
Crying is the common trigger for shaken- baby syndrome. The stress of not being able to calm a crying baby can cause some caregivers to become aggressive.
Cox believes other pressures also led to her son's abuse.
"(Dailey) said he was really stressed out. He was going to work. He was going to school full time. He just decided he was just too stressed out and he had to get it out," she said.
Cox is working to get the message out to never shake a baby. She is pleading with anyone who will listen
"Babies can't defend themselves. They are fragile. It is never OK to take out a bad day or a bad moment on them," she said.
"If you are a new dad and you need to go out and go for a walk, don't feel guilty, go do it. If you are a mom and you need a break from your baby, don't feel guilty, go do it. In the meantime, you need to be discussing how you are feeling with someone and reaching out for help."
Lynn Kimbrough, spokesperson for the Denver district attorney's office, said, "Any time you have a parent, in this case a father, who is responsible for their child's death, there is no more tragic a case. It is difficult for the families, for investigators and for the community. It is difficult for everyone involved."
Said Cox: "I just really want people to know that babies are fragile. I want people to know that they can't shake babies. It isn't just shaking a baby; it is brutally beating a baby. I want Matthew to be a prime example of why things must change."
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_16299860#ixzz131esEpLY

SBS: damaged for life

THORNTON, Colo. – A Thornton man has been sentenced to 24 years in prison for shaking his two-month-old daughter, causing irreversible brain damage.
Daniel Griffin, 23, pleaded guilty in June to Knowing Reckless Child Abuse Causing Serious Injury for the death of Jazmyn Griffin.
On June 9, Thornton Police were dispatched to an apartment complex on Woburn Keep on a report of a physical domestic incident in progress. When they arrived, they found the baby girl with her eyes closed and breathing.
Jazmyn was rushed to Children’s Hospital where doctors determined that she had suffered neurologic devastation. They had to drill a hole into her head to relieve brain swelling and save her life.
Griffin explained to police how he violently shook his daughter, then later recanted saying that he didn’t remember what happened, prosecutors said. He also admitted to being under the influence of methamphetamines at the time.
As a result of her injuries, prosecutors say Jazmyn’s head will never grow because of the death of her brain matter. She is blind for life and, at 18-months-old, is unable to walk or talk and is being fed through a stomach tube.
"This case is beyond tragic”, states Adams/Broomfield County District Attorney Don Quick. “An innocent child will suffer for the rest of her life as the result of horrible choices made by her father. He will pay the price for those choices for 24 years, but Jazmyn will pay for the rest of her life.”
http://northglenn-thornton.kdvr.com/content/meth-user-sentenced-shaken-baby-case

SBS: Colorado

A baby is clinging to life while the babysitter is behind bars for allegedly nearly killing the baby girl.
Thirty-year-old Nancy Galvan Hernandez is now charged with child abuse. The 4-month-old girl's mother rushed her to Parkview Hospital when she picked her up from the babysitter and saw the injuries.

The baby was unresponsive and had suffered a closed-head injury. The baby was transferred to Memorial Hospital, where she's fighting for her life. Experts think she may the victim of Shaken Baby Syndrome.
Hernandez had been babysitting the child for about a month.
http://www.kktv.com/news/headlines/101078914.html