Follow Us 
Related News
Current Poll
| Boomer bound over for trial |
 |
 |
 |
| News | |||
| Written by Robin Hixson | |||
| Wednesday, 04 March 2009 09:00 | |||
|
District Court Judge Amy Harth denied a motion Friday by James Boomer’s attorney to dismiss a charge against him in a 2006 case of the scalding death of an infant. Boomer, 24, will go to trial at 9 a.m. April 21 in Miami County District Court on a charge of aggravated child endangerment for the May 28, 2006, death of infant Janis DiMasi in rural Paola. If convicted, he could serve five to 17 months in prison and be subject to a possible fine of up to $100,000. In January, Harth had ruled that evidence presented was sufficient to bind Boomer over for trial. To support her motion to dismiss, defense attorney Mary Stephenson cited a statement by the child’s mother that she believed the scalding was accidental. The defense also cited testimony that, after the scalding, Boomer had picked the child up, put cold water on her, then placed her in a baby swing and, realizing she wasn’t comfortable, called her mother at work to come home. Stephenson said testimony indicated he had wrapped the infant in a blanket and given her acetaminophen while waiting for the mother to arrive. Stephenson said there was no medical testimony to show Boomer caused any further damage to the child after the scalding or that there was any lag during the time he was administering care and seeking help. She also argued that during Boomer’s first interview, he was tired from driving between hospitals and that there is no laboratory evidence of skin on the baby’s blanket. Finally, Stephenson suggested possible evidence contamination, saying by the time authorities entered the home where the scalding occurred three to four days afterward, the child’s grandmother had been there. Kansas Assistant Attorney General Nola Wright, opposing dismissal, said the court record shows evidence and Boomer’s own statements indicate he didn’t immediately seek aid for the injured child. She cited testimony that he didn’t seem worried when he called the mother. She also questioned why Boomer did not call 911, arguing that a reasonable person would not have failed to do so. Harth said because Wright had not been at the preliminary hearing, her understanding of the case was limited and thus affected her argument. However, Hart said, evidence remained sufficient to bind Boomer over for trial. She then set the trial date and scheduled a pretrial conference for 2 p.m. April 10.
Set as favorite
Bookmark
Email This
Hits: 475 Trackback(0)
Comments (0)
 Write comment
You must be logged in to post a comment. Please register if you do not have an account yet.
|
TrackBack URI for this entry
Subscribe to this comment's feed
