Whisper
#byefelicia
Keith Firman
http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-easton-toddler-burned-hearing-20141217-story.html[....]
attorney for
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man charged with severely burning his former girlfriend's 2-year-old son said Wednesday the burns may have been due to an overheated water boiler
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prosecutor said the boy's injuries were no accident.
Keith Henry Firman, 25, was charged in October after nearly a yearlong investigation
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Firman gave up his right to a preliminary hearing on charges of aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child.
Michele Kluk of the state attorney general's office said she was asked to take over the prosecution because of a potential conflict of interest:
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Kluk said there is no plea deal in the case and that Firman faces a minimum four years in prison for the most serious charge
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Firman's attorney, Tyree Blair Sr., said after the hearing that the boy's injuries were caused when Firman was giving the boy a shower
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Blair said that apartment is in the same building as a dry-cleaning business that controls the temperature of the water boiler.
"We believe the burns were caused by the shower itself,
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Kluk said photos of the boy's second- and third-degree burns clearly show they were not accidentally
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"Even if the water was really boiling hot, it wouldn't have caused these kind of injuries by mistake,"
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A doctor who reviewed the medical records and photos told
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the boy's injuries were consistent with being immersed in hot water.
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boy, now 3, is undergoing therapy and still has some scarring from the burns.
"Other than that, he is surprisingly on his way
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District Judge Antonia Grifo's courtroom was packed
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with family and friends of both Firman and the victim.
According to court records:
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although the boy was injured Oct. 24, he wasn't treated
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until five days later. The boy had burns to his lower legs and bottom consistent with being immersed in hot liquid.
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boy's mother, Lauren Parkinson, told
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she was not home when the boy was burned, but had left her son in care of Firman while she was at work and school.
In an interview with police
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Firman said he put the boy in the shower after he had soiled his diaper.
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said the boy began "screaming loudly" and he immediately took him out of the shower and saw the burns.
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Firman later changed his account of what had happened and then said he had left the boy in the shower for about an hour and when he returned, the boy was "screaming like a banshee" from the hot water.
Firman remains in prison under $25,000 bail.