October 24, 2018 at 4:00 p.m.
Tran jury hears interviews, sees text messages
State alleges boy suffered traumatic brain injury
Tran jury hears interviews, sees text messages
By By Heather Schaefer and Jamie Taylor-
The third day of testimony in State vs. Ellen Tran featured the reading of several text message conversations between Tran and her then-husband, Dr. Trung T. Tran, in which she expresses frustration over having to care for Avery Edwards, Trung's son from a previous relationship.
Tran, 30, is accused of causing Edwards to suffer fatal brain trauma during a visit to Rhinelander in April 2017.
According to the criminal complaint and trial testimony, the investigation into Edwards' death began with a hang-up 9-1-1 call from the Tran residence the evening of April 14, 2017. When a dispatcher called back, Ellen Tran reported that Edwards was unresponsive and had stopped breathing.
Edwards was transported by ambulance to Ascension St. Mary's Hospital and later transferred to a hospital in Marshfield where he passed away.
Two days later Ellen Tran was arrested on suspicion of second-degree reckless homicide. The charge was amended to first-degree reckless homicide following a preliminary hearing June 23, 2017 at which time Fond du Lac County medical examiner Doug Kelley testified that Tran's statement that Edwards fell in the shower did not match the injuries found at autopsy.
In the text message conversations read Wednesday, Ellen complains that Avery "cries and whines all the time" and expresses anger at Trung for putting her in an "embarrassing" situation, referencing the five-month age difference between Edwards and the couple's daughter together.
"I wish your illegitimate love child was never born, now I have to deal with him. I hate dealing with him and your (expletive) ex. I hate your lil' (expletive) son. I wish you weren't stupid enough to knock up (expletive)," she wrote.
In another of the text conversations, Ellen tells Trung she is planning to pretend to be friends with Avery's mother, Lori Edwards, as it's important to "keep your friends close and your enemies closer."
"She (Lori Edwards) may think I'm nice but I have two faces," Ellen wrote to Trung. As the "two faces" exchange was read in court, Lori Edwards was seen in the front row of the gallery vigorously nodding her head in agreement.
In another of the text message exchanges, references were made to an incident where the Trans' daughter experienced some type of accident or injury while in a shower under Ellen's care. In the messages, Trung states that he warned Ellen to be careful with the child while in the shower.
"You don't listen," he wrote.
Following the reading of the text messages, a defense witness was called out of order.
Dr. Joseph Scheller took the jury through numerous images of Edwards' brain and opined that so-called "short falls" directly on the head can cause the type of injuries Edwards suffered. He also expressed concern regarding the toxicology results.
"No child should have toxicology findings he had," Scheller testified.
Scheller's direct testimony capped off the morning session. He was expected back on the stand Wednesday afternoon for cross-examination.
On Tuesday the jury heard from the emergency room doctor who first treated Edwards, a sheriff's detective called to the scene and sheriff's captain Terri Hook who oversaw the investigation. The jury also heard audio and video recordings of law enforcement interviews with Ellen Tran.
First on the stand was Ascension St. Mary's Hospital emergency room physician Dr. Lynn Gehrmann.
Gehrmann described the steps taken as medical staff worked to save Edwards' life. She also testified that she was concerned about the boy's low body temperature (92 degrees) upon arrival.
"He wasn't exposed to the elements so I didn't have a very good answer as to why he was so cold," she said, adding that she also observed significant bruising on the child, including a large hematoma (a collection of blood) over his right forehead.
Gehrmann testified that Edwards' death was at first difficult for her to process.
"If I can't talk myself through the steps (of what happened physiologically) and make it make sense, it's hard for me to find closure," she explained.
That changed, however, after she learned more information following the autopsy. She testified she was told brain tissue testing showed Edwards suffered a traumatic brain injury. This, she said, answered her questions about the boy's cold temperature.
Traumatic brain injuries cause such an "insult to the brain" that it can no longer communicate effectively with the rest of the body and regulate things such as temperature, she explained.
During cross-examination, Madison-based defense attorney Jonas Bednarek focused on bleeding in the brain that can evolve over time. Using the example of a child falling off a skateboard, he asked several questions about the length of time a hematoma can exist before the patient begins to exhibit symptoms.
Next on the stand was Oneida County detective sergeant Chad Wanta who was called to the Tran house by the initial responding officers.
Wanta conducted the initial audio-taped interview with Ellen Tran, a portion of which was played for the jury.
In the interview, Tran describes taking a shower herself and then bringing Edwards into the shower with her.
She told Wanta the boy was fine until she got him out of the shower at which time he became more limp than normal and his eyes didn't seem right. She said he was crying but noted that he had been crying constantly since he arrived for the visit.
"Then all of a sudden he crashed," she said. That's when she called 9-1-1.
During the interview, Ellen receives a phone call from Dr. Tran where he advises her that the boy suffered a subdural hematoma.
At that point, she tells Wanta the boy must have fallen and hit his head on the ceramic shower bench, the side of the wall or the floor, but she did not believe it was a serious injury at the time.
When asked if the boy began to cry louder after the fall, she repeated that he was always crying.
"It's hard to tell when he gets hurt because he cries all the time," she said.
Later Tuesday, the jury heard two more interviews law enforcement conducted with Ellen Tran, one in her home the night Avery died (before she was told he had passed away) and the other at the sheriff's office the next day.
In both interviews, she repeatedly tells investigators she doesn't know what happened and it doesn't make sense to her.
In the second interview, Hook repeatedly asks her to explain how the fall happened.
"He was slippin," she said. "He had soap all over him and he was slippin." Later, she said she may have turned her head to check the water temperature and didn't see the fall.
"Maybe I wasn't observant enough," she said in one of the interviews. "Maybe I was too cavalier."
When the investigators advise her they know she is a Registered Nurse (she worked as a surgical nurse) and ask why the dispatcher had to walk her through the steps of performing CPR, she says she panicked.
"It's like you forget everything," she said.
After being told that water was found in the boys' lung, Tran said she put on wet washcloth on his face, but had no other explanation. She repeatedly denied that he had been in the family's jet tub that evening.
Several times in the interviews, Tran insists that she would never hurt the boy and doesn't know what happened to him.
"We were in the shower, he fell. He fell in the shower. That is what happened. I don't understand it either," she said. "I swear to God, on my life, I have never hurt him ever."
As the last interview continues, Tran becomes more emotional and states that she feels like a failure and that she had failed her husband. To which, Hook notes that the person she failed was Edwards.
"You never mentioned that you failed Avery," Hook said. "He died because you didn't care for him. I don't believe you did this on purpose, but I do believe you know exactly what happened."
Hook goes on to ask Tran if she was frustrated having to care for three children by herself (she was also caring for her 15-month-old daughter with Tran and her 9-year-old son from a previous relationship that evening in addition to Edwards), including a boy who she characterized as fussy. Hook also tells Tran that doctors have advised law enforcement that the injuries the boy sustained required force. At that point, she asks Tran if she was holding some part of the boy's body when he fell.
"I think I must have pulled his leg," she responded at one point. "I didn't realize I was doing it."
After the interviews were played to the jury, Bednarek began a pointed cross-examination of Hook. He started by asking the police captain how many times she accused Tran of killing Edwards and whether she might have been wrong to do so.
"Numerous times," Hook responded immediately, "I didn't count"
Bednarek then launched into a rapid-fire science quiz, asking Hook for the definitions of several medical terms.
Hook was not able to define most of the terms, but explained that it's the job of the medical experts to determine how an injury occurred and explain the medical terminology.
When asked how she, a police officer, could know what is and is not normal bruising, Hook told Bednarek she has received training and instructs other officers on how to identify child abuse.
She agreed with Bednarek's assertions that she and the other officers focused heavily on Ellen Tran from the start of the investigation. That investigative strategy was the result of training and experience, she said.
"I've seen traumatic brain injuries (suffered in motor vehicle accidents and in shaken baby cases)," Hook told Bednarek. "I was quite aware that baby (Avery) was going to die."
She went on to clarify that she knows from her training that a baby could not have cried, spoke or walked around after suffering such an injury.
The defense is expected to present its case Thursday.
If convicted, Ellen Tran faces a maximum of 60 years in prison.
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