Opinion ID: 2570523
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Evidence presented by Collman

Text: Collman presented three theories of defense: that Damian died from a fall down the stairs; that Stach, not Collman, was Damian's abuser and killer; and that Damian died from choking on the bubble gum he had eaten the morning of his death. To support his theory that Damian died from falling down the stairs, Collman presented testimony from his expert witness, Dr. Sohn, that Damian's death was the result of a spinal cord injury consistent with a fall. Further, Collman testified that when he was lying on the couch, he heard Damian scream and then a thud. Collman stated that he found Damian at the bottom of the stairs and was unable to resuscitate him with CPR. Collman claimed that he did not call 911 because he believed that the ambulance would come from McGill (a town about twelve miles outside Ely). To support his theory that Stach had abused Damian and caused his death, Collman presented several incidents in which Stach allegedly abused Damian and was generally a bad mother, including the following. In 1993, after Damian was born, Stach was frustrated with Damian's crying and eating habits and would have others help her care for him. She once slapped Damian's leg for being uncooperative when she was changing his diaper. One witness testified that when Damian was learning to walk and used a walker, Stach allegedly kicked the walker, sending it flying across the room until Damian smashed into the wall. Stach testified that in fact Damian was about to reach a sharp knife and out of fear she pushed away Damian's walker, which rolled to the other side of the room, tapping the wall. In December 1994, Stach and Damian were staying in a hotel room with Flores and Richard in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Damian had been acting up all day and repeatedly made racial slurs about an African-American man who was walking outside the hotel window. Stach told him to stop, but he continued to repeat the epithet. Stach slapped Damian across the face with the back of her hand; Stach's ring cut Damian's lip, which started bleeding. Stach testified that she felt very bad about this incident and had not intended to injure Damian as she had. In October 1995, Stach brought Damian over to Rick and Kim Colon's house. Rick Colon was Collman's friend from prison guard training. Stach pulled down Damian's pants to show them his bruises and proudly announced, That's what bad boys get at my house. Stach suggested to the Colons that they discipline their children the same way. Rick Colon testified that he felt uncomfortable around Stach and felt concerned for Damian's welfare. However, he did not call the authorities on Damian's behalf. On Halloween 1995, Stach, Kim Colon, Shelley Muir, and their children went trick-or-treating. Damian was costumed as a football player, and Muir commented on Damian's authentic black-eye makeup. Stach allegedly replied in a serious tone, What makeup? The little bastard did something wrong today, and I had to reprimand him. Further, after the children got tired of walking, both Muir and Kim Colon picked up their children and carried them home, while Stach made Damian walk the whole way, calling him lazy when he would fall down. Sometime after Halloween 1995, when Kim Colon was at Stach's residence, Damian turned on the propane gas tank for the stove. Stach, who was about to light a cigarette, saw what Damian did and punished him by hitting his naked buttocks with a spatula, causing a bruise. Stach testified that she punished him severely only because his action caused her great fear; if she had lit her cigarette, the house could have blown up from the propane. Shortly after the spatula incident, Stach and Damian visited the Colons' house, when their son, Christopher, and Damian started to turn on the propane gas tank on the stove. Kim Colon testified that Stach punished Damian by hitting his hands with a wooden spoon fifteen to twenty times, and Kim Colon did not hit Christopher. Stach testified that Kim Colon punished Christopher by hitting his hands a couple of times with a wooden spoon, and therefore, Stach did the same to Damian because she believed that the punishments should be equal. In December 1995, Damian was standing near Stach, who was smoking a cigarette. Stach bent over to pick up a puppy and accidentally burned Damian in the forehead with the cigarette. Stach would also trip Damian with a child's hockey stick as he walked by her. She testified that this was done playfully and not intended to hurt Damian. In support of his third theory, that Damian died from choking on bubble gum, Collman testified that Damian had eaten a whole pack of gum the morning of his death. At the hospital, Collman had suggested to the medical personnel that Damian may have choked on the gum. Further, members of the medical staff testified on cross-examination that they had difficulty putting an endotracheal tube down Damian's throat, indicating a blockage. This evidence was impeached by testimony that the blockage was mucous, which very commonly forms in the throat of abused children due to crying. Additionally, Dr. Clark testified that during the autopsy, she found no gum in Damian's throat. She further stated that had the gum lodged in Damian's throat at 7 a.m., when he ate the gum, he would have choked right away and not five and a half hours later.