Damien Baker 5 Dies From Suspected Child Abuse; More Charges Possible

[Whisper]

Boy, 5, Hospitalized, Mother's Boyfriend Arrested
Sept 20 2010
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A 5-year-old Marion boy is still hospitalized in critical condition following the arrest of his mother's boyfriend on charges related to child abuse.

Michael J. Brown, 35, of Marion, was ordered held over the weekend on $500,000 bail. He faces charges of felonious assault and child endangering, along with probation violations,
Police arrested Brown last week at the Crescent Heights Road home he shared with the child's mother, and her son, Damien Baker, 5.
Baker was flown from Marion General Hospital to Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus with life-threatening injuries on Sept. 9. Family members said over the weekend that the boy was not expected to survive, 10TV News reported.
Other children in the home were removed and placed with other family members on Friday.
On Sunday, Brown's father told 10TV News that his son loved Damien and was not capable of harming him.
"Just knowing that he's never going to grow up and be normal, and knowing that my number one son is being accused of something he didn't do, that is just tearing me apart," Donald Brown said.
Donald Brown said his son showed up at his door last week, holding a lifeless Baker in his arms.
"I opened the door and he came carrying Damien," Donald Brown said. "He was freaking out, crying and carrying on."
Donald Brown said his son did not know how the boy was injured.

"(He said Damien) went upstairs, brushed his teeth, got his pillow and he made it down to the bottom of the stairs and he just dropped. He collapsed," Donald Brown said.
He said the boy's collapse may be connected to an an injury he suffered a few days earlier.

"He had a bump on his head when he came home from school that day and said he fell," Donald Brown said. "I noticed a bump on his head, then a few days later it turned green."
[...]http://www.10tv.com/live/content/local/stories/2010/09/20/story_marion_abuse.html


Boy, 5, Dies From Suspected Child Abuse; More Charges Possible
Sept 21 2010
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A 5-year-old boy is dead and police said Tuesday that additional charges are possible against the man suspected of abusing him.

Damien Baker died Monday afternoon at Nationwide Children's Hospital, where he had been since Sept. 9, police said.

His mother's boyfriend, Michael J. Brown, was charged over the weekend in connection with the case.

Brown, 35, faces felonious assault, child endangering and probation violation charges, investigators said.

Police said on Tuesday that the investigation was ongoing and the case was being reviewed for the possibility of new charges.
[...]

http://www.10tv.com/live/content/local/stories/2010/09/21/story-columbus-marion-damien-baker-death.html?sid=102
http://i52.tinypic.com/acfyug.jpg
Michael Brown
http://i55.tinypic.com/20pwm81.jpg
Damien Baker

[Whisper]

New pic of neck tatt Athena just for you lol
http://i55.tinypic.com/5nlmr7.jpg

[Dakota Valkyrie]

The case against Michael J. Brown in the death of Damien Baker has been dismissed, but Brown remains incarcerated on new charges from a nonsupport case.
[...]

On Sept. 16, police arrested Brown, 35, of 1320 Crescent Heights Road, and charged him with child endangering and felonious assault, alleging he had abused the boy.

Brown now is held on probation violation charges and four new charges of criminal nonsupport of dependents filed Thursday morning. Brown remains in the Multi-County Correctional Center on a new $50,000 bond. His previous bond was $500,000.

The decision to dismiss the abuse charges was a tactical one, according to a news release from the Marion County Prosecutor's Office.

Crucial medical evidence needs to be obtained for charges related to Baker's death; dismissing the charges allows the state to complete its investigation before taking the case to a Marion County grand jury, the release said.

Once someone is arrested and held on a felony complaint, prosecutors have 10 days to take the case to a grand jury. Otherwise, a preliminary hearing is required, county Prosecutor Brent Yager said.

Instead of presenting partial evidence at a hearing Thursday in Marion Municipal Court, Yager said, authorities decided to dismiss the case until they can collect more evidence from the autopsy report.

In high priority cases, requests can be made to expedite an autopsy report, but one procedure necessary for the case will take at least six weeks to complete, he said.

"Unlike what we see on television, in criminal investigations it takes time to obtain accurate, reliable evidence, especially forensic evidence," Yager said.

"This decision buys us some very valuable time, and will allow us to present the best possible evidence to the grand jury once the investigation is completed."
[...]
http://www.marionstar.com/article/20100924/NEWS01/9240318/Charges-in-boy-s-death-dismissed

[Whisper]

Grandma: 5-year-old Damien Baker will be missed
MARION - Funeral arrangements have been made for 5-year-old Damien Baker, who died after sustaining head trauma Sept. 9.
One of Baker's grandmothers, Mary Bowens, said she misses her grandson. "That little boy is going to be missed by so many people," she said.

"I don't know how we're going to live without him. His grandpa Tom was just talking about him because he went and got pumpkins," she said. "We carve them out here and let them put a little candle in them, all the grandkids. He's always done that.

"We're still going to get him one this year."

Gunder/Hall & Folk, 347 W. Center St., is handling the arrangements, listed on page 2A of today's Star.

The boy's family is accepting memorial contributions through the funeral home to defray costs. If there are any donations made beyond the costs, Bowens said, her son has requested they go to benefit victims of child abuse.

Damien Baker was the son of Brittany Baker, 24, and Rick Bowens, 32. He was a kindergartner at Benjamin Harrison Elementary School.

Principal Leah Filliater said he was a happy little guy.

"Every time I saw him in the hallway he had a big smile on his face," she said.

The child died Monday at Nationwide Children's Hospital after being taken off of a ventilator he had been on for more than a week. He was an organ donor, according to his obituary.

His mother's live-in boyfriend, Michael J. Brown, 35, was the only adult home with Baker when he became unresponsive, police said.

Two other children who lived in the home, an 18-month-old and a 14-year-old, were placed in the homes of other relatives, according to Marion County Children Services Director Eric Bush.
[...]http://www.marionstar.com/article/20100925/NEWS01/9250301/1002/rss01http://i55.tinypic.com/3151gkm.jpg
Damien

[Tundratot]

Michael Brown, 36, 1298 Crescent Heights Road, also was indicted on one count each of involuntary manslaughter, a first-degree felony; endangering children, a second-degree felony; and felonious assault, a second-degree felony. The murder count can be a first- or second-degree felony.

The indictment stems from a Sept. 9, 2010, incident in which Damien Baker suffered head trauma while Brown was the only adult at their residence, police said. The child died Sept. 20 after being in the hospital on life support.A Marion man faces a murder charge in the death of the 5-year-old son of his then-girlfriend in indictments handed down by a Marion County grand jury.http://www.marionstar.com/article/20110319/NEWS01/103190301/1002/rss01/Child-s-death-leads-murder-indictment?odyssey=nav|head

[Dakota Valkyrie]

Michael Brown, 37, of Marion, pleaded guilty to one count of involuntary manslaughter, a third-degree felony, in Marion County Common Pleas Court before Judge William Finnegan.

The involuntary manslaughter charge involved the death of Damien Baker, 5.
[...]

Brown was sentenced to three years of community control. He had been incarcerated for 18 months, awaiting trial. Five months of that time was credited to his sentence.

Marion County prosecutor Brent Yager said Brown was given the maximum sentence by the judge.

"He already did about five months. He has another 31 over his head," Yager said.
[...]

Differences in the experts' findings in the case led to the plea agreement. The prosecution's expert said the death was caused by some kind of shaking incident, Yager said. He said the defense argued that the injuries resulted from an accidental fall.

Yager said that if the case went to trial, he could see a jury saying, "I don't know." That could have meant "not guilty."

Yager said he contacted Damien's parents, Brittany Baker and Richard Bowens. He said they understood what the prosecution was doing and why, and they agreed.

Brown is now on intensive supervision, which includes alcohol and drug counseling and a mental health assessment.

Robert Wilson, Brown's attorney, said Brown entered an "Alford plea" on the case, which means a person does not admit to a charge, but admits prosecution could likely prove the charge.

"This is a resolution of the case without admitting to the crime," said Wilson.

Wilson and Yager agreed any case involving the death of a child is emotional.

"Emotions run high when there is a child as a victim," Yager said. "As prosecutor, I have to take the emotion out of it and look at it - where we are and what the jury will come up with."

Wilson said that in a case like this, it may end up not being about what really happened, but what people say happened from the witness stand due to emotions.

"You have to weigh out those conditions as well," he said.
http://www.marionstar.com/article/20120229/NEWS01/202290310/Plea-deal-ends-case-boy-s-death

"Community Control" in Ohio:
While often called "probation," community control sanctions cover a wide variety of residential, non-residential, and financial options that judges use in criminal sentencing, including traditional probation supervision and numerous other restrictions administered by the local court. Community control is used for felons when a prison term is not imposed. It is imposed on misdemeanants when a jail term is not warranted. Residential community control sanctions include community-based correctional facilities, halfway houses, and others. Non-residential options include community supervision, drug and alcohol treatment, house arrest, electronic monitoring, community service, and the like. Financial sanctions include fines, restitution, and various reimbursements. Persons facing mandatory prison terms (e.g., for murder, high level sex and drug offenses, felonies committed with firearms, certain repeat offenders, etc.) or mandatory jail terms (e.g., for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs) are not eligible for community control, other than financial sanctions. See sentence.http://www.ohiolegalservices.org/public/legal_terms_dictionary/community-control-sanctions

[carolinablue]

Ok, noew I have to go puke. Asinine law and an asinine decision. Asinine every-fucking-thing. I can't support vigilante justice; that's just a step from mob rule, but I can hope that something really bad happens to him. Really, really bad. Cancer of the dick, malignant hemorrhoids, sudden blindness or Lou Gehrig,s Disease; I'm ok with any and all of them.

[Tundratot]

http://i35.tinypic.com/2z4eot5.jpg