Opinion ID: 891645
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Events Leading to Defendant's Arrest

Text: {2} Early on the morning of April 15, 2007, sheriff's deputies and paramedics responded to a call reporting the death of a 17-month-old child in San Juan County. When detectives arrived at the scene, they found the deceased child lying on the living room floor under a blanket, and they noticed an obvious foot wear pattern on her stomach. The officers then interviewed Defendant, 18 years old at the time, and Defendant's girlfriend, both of whom had been babysitting Child earlier that night. {3} During his interview with law enforcement, Defendant admitted that he had stepped on Child's foot earlier that evening and that she had made a screech noise. Upon further questioning about whether [Defendant] possibly stepped on [Child's] stomach, he stated that he guessed that he could have when he attempted to jump over her while she was lying on the floor under some clothing. The detectives noted that the pattern on the soles of Defendant's shoes was similar to the pattern on Child's stomach, and Defendant allowed his shoes to be taken into evidence. {4} Defendant's girlfriend informed the police that she did not know how Child was injured. She further stated that there were several points during the evening when Defendant was alone with Child. She claimed that Defendant had helped her babysit on several other occasions and that he had never hurt the children. At the conclusion of the investigation, Defendant was charged with Abuse of a ChildIntentional (Resulting in Death), Tampering with Evidence, and Aggravated Battery (Great Bodily Harm) (Household Member).