June 26, 2017 at 3:51 p.m.
Tran prelim: Pathologist details child's injuries
Kelley cites six distinct injuries consistent with blunt force trauma
Tran prelim: Pathologist details child's injuries
After hearing testimony from an investigator and a pathologist, Oneida County Circuit Judge Patrick O'Melia ruled there is probable cause to believe Ellen L. Tran committed a felony in connection with the death of Avery J. Edwards April 15 and bound her over for arraignment.
First on the stand was Oneida County detective sergeant Chad Wanta, who participated in the initial questioning of Tran at the Newbold home she shares with her husband Trang, as well as more formal questioning at the sheriff's department on April 15.
He was also present in Fond du Lac with sheriff's captain Terri Hook for the child's April 17 autopsy.
Wanta began by describing what he saw at the Tran house the evening of April 14, after deputies and first responders were dispatched in response to a 9-1-1 call reporting a child in distress.
He testified that at least one of the deputies at the scene "expressed concerns" about what had happened to the child based on her observations and what Tran had told her.
"Particularly, Sgt. (Kelly) Moermond stated she believed something had happened with the victim in the bathtub because there was water in the bathtub and there was a wet towel draped over the side of the bathtub," Wanta said.
Wanta also testified that he overheard one of the EMTs say that there was water in the victim while they were performing CPR. He also said he observed bruises on the boy's upper right forehead.
Wanta also detailed what Tran told him about the events of the evening of April 14 leading up to the boy becoming unresponsive.
"She said while she was putting lotion on Avery that Avery began having labored breathing," Wanta testified. "That he had taken a few little breaths and then appeared OK again. She continued and she stated that then Avery 'crashed,' that was her word. When I asked her to explain that, she said he started rapidly deteriorating and he had a gaze in his eyes when he was looking up into space and his body went limp."
Oneida County district attorney Mike Schiek then played a recording of the two 9-1-1 calls from the Tran home, one in which no one spoke followed by a hang-up, and a second call where a noticeably frantic Tran spoke with a dispatcher.
"He's not doing anything," Tran is heard yelling into the phone when she was asked if Edwards was breathing. She could also be heard frantically yelling at her 9-year-old child to get her 15-month-old child out of the bathroom. The dispatcher then walked Tran through CPR rescue breathing.
Wanta testified that while he was at the Tran house, Hook was at the Ministry St. Mary's emergency room where Edwards was transported prior to being airlifted to St. Joseph's Hospital in Marshfield. She sent Wanta photos of Edwards' injuries before he was transferred that showed numerous visible bruises, he testified.
Later, he said he overheard a cellphone conversation between Tran and her husband, who is a doctor at St. Mary's, in which she was told the child had internal head injuries. At that point Ellen Tran allegedly told her husband that Edwards had fallen in the shower.
"Until that phone call was received, nothing was said about the victim falling in the shower," Wanta testified.
He said Hook then sent him a photograph of the boy taken while he was still in the St. Mary's emergency room showing a large bruise on his upper right forehead. He testified that Tran told him the boy didn't have the bruise when he was taken away in the ambulance. A couple of the deputies on the scene also told him the bruise wasn't that extensive when they saw Edwards, he testified.
He also discussed conversations Oneida County investigators had with Lori Edwards, Avery's mother, who lives in Virginia. According to Wanta, Edwards explained there was a custody dispute and that she had primary custody of Avery. After a visit with Ellen Tran in February, Edwards allegedly noticed bruises on her son. Before she allowed Avery to leave for the court-ordered visit with the Trans on March 31, she took several photographs of his nude body, which she later sent to Hook.
"She felt something might happen to Avery and she wanted to have proof," Wanta testified.
Schiek then played about 14 minutes of an interview Wanta and Hook conducted with Tran on April 15. Tran's attorney Amy C. Scholz objected to this, as she did with the 9-1-1 call, on the grounds she had not had an opportunity to review it, but O'Melia overruled the objection.
In the video, a tearful Tran repeatedly tells police she does not know what happened, but her story changes slightly as the recording continues. She eventually admits that she had a handheld showerhead in her hand.
Hook repeatedly pushed for more details, but Tran didn't elaborate.
"You killed him because you didn't take care of him," Hook alleges at the end of the clip.
Wanta also testified that when Fond du Lac County medical examiner Doug Kelley shaved the child's head in preparation for the autopsy, he noticed numerous interconnected bruises on the boy's head. He also observed extensive bruising on the boy's right leg and chest, Wanta said. Schiek introduced photographs of the injuries which Wanta used to identify what he saw.
Under cross-examination by Scholz, Wanta said he and Hook have not yet determined what caused the blunt force trauma.
"You have done a pretty extensive investigation into this case, is that accurate?" Scholz asked.
"Yes," Want replied.
"I see that you did several search warrants."
"Yes."
"You have seized the showerheads in the bathrooms of the Tran house?"
"Correct."
"Anything on the showerheads that would indicate blunt force trauma?" Scholz asked.
"No," Wanta replied.
Scholz repeatedly pressed Wanta for an explanation as to what Tran allegedly used to cause the head injuries.
"We do not know what implement caused that injury," Wanta replied.
In his testimony, Kelley reviewed the areas of the child's body where he found either bruises or contusions.
In addition to his head, the doctor said he found bruising on the boy's back, buttocks, knees, forearms and chest. He also testified that the child had no head or rib fractures or signs of healed old fractures.
Schiek asked Kelley to go into detail as to the head injuries he found in the course of the autopsy.
"I think there are six separate areas that have significant bruises, if that makes any sense," Kelley said.
"Doctor, what I think I'm getting at is that it wasn't just a single few bruises encompassing a single impact, they were distinct and separate, as far as you could tell?" Schiek asked.
"Yes, as far as I can tell, that is the case," Kelley replied. "Certainly there are different sides of the head; you've got blows to the forehead, the area of the right side of the head, an area to the back of the head. So certainly those are separate areas of injury by virtue of the fact that they are on opposite sides of the head."
Kelley also testified that he is still waiting for additional test results from other labs. Once he receives that information, he will be able to write his final report. He said the test results on the boy's eyes and optical nerves further supported his finding of blunt force trauma as the cause of death.
Schiek asked Kelley if the extent of the injuries was consistent with Tran's claim that the child fell in the shower.
"No, it's not," Kelley replied.
Under cross-examination, Scholz asked Kelley what could have caused the injuries. The pathologist replied he could not speculate as to what kind of blow caused them, but did say if a theory were presented as to an object that might have been used, he could determine if it was likely to have been the cause or not.
She also tried to shake Kelley's assertion that a fall could not have caused the injuries, but he remained certain.
"A fall from this child's height doesn't make sense with these injuries," he said.
In summing up the testimony of both witnesses, Schiek said Tran's actions in putting Edwards in the shower led to his death, and that her actions were negligent.
"I think the most important testimony that we heard today was from Dr. Kelley in that the child's injuries were not consistent with a single fall," Schiek said.
Scholz countered that Schiek and the detectives had not shown what conduct or act led to the child's death, let alone that Tran had committed it. As a result she argued the state had not shown probable cause.
While there is "no smoking gun" or object that caused Edward's death, O'Melia said it is clear from the testimony and evidence that the child went from fine to not breathing in less than two hours. He also said that there was evidence presented that would support the more serious charge of first- degree reckless homicide, if Schiek choses to file that charge.
"Putting a 20-month-old in a shower is dangerous in and of itself," O'Melia said. "And she knew it was dangerous. Her act of putting him in the shower was a substantial factor that produced his (Edwards') death. She knew of the risks, she said she knew the risks."
He then ruled the state had met its probable cause burden. He said the normal procedure in his court is to go straight to arraignment, but in light of the lack of a final autopsy report, and the possibility that Schiek might amend the charge, he set a separate arraignment for Aug. 14.
He also ruled on Tran's motion for permission to travel to North Carolina to be with her father when he undergoes major surgery next month. He said he believes the $50,000 cash bond she posted and her ties to the Rhinelander area will ensure her appearance at future hearings and granted the request.
He did order her to surrender her passport, but Tran said she doesn't have one and has never had one.
If convicted, Tran could serve up to 25 years in prison.
Jamie Taylor may be reached at [email protected].
Comments:
You must login to comment.