JULIAN HURLEY - 4 yo - Michigan City (Lakeshore/ W of South Bend) IN

No details released in death of Michigan City boy

MICHIGAN CITY —
Police on Monday were still not releasing details in the death of a
4-year-old Michigan City boy, which remains under investigation.

Michigan City Detective Bureau commander Lt. Cary Brinkman said a forensic examination of the child will be Tuesday.

"We’re still talking to people. We’ll release more after the autopsy,’’ Brinkman said.

The name of the boy and man being held in connection with the death were still not
disclosed. Police categorized the man in custody as a person of
interest.

Brinkman would not reveal the connection the man might have to the boy.

Just after 4 p.m. Friday, an ambulance was dispatched to the 100 block of West
William Street on a report of an unresponsive child.

The boy was taken to St. Anthony Memorial Health Center and pronounced dead after 5 p.m. in the emergency room, police said.

Child Protective Services was called to assist in the investigation, Brinkman said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Brinkman at (219) 874-3221, ext. 310.

http://www.southbendtribune.com/article/20110117/News01/110119609/1130

Prosecutor: 4-year-old Michigan City boy beaten to death for not eating
"I will hurt from the bottom of my soul for the rest of my life," says the mother of Julian Hurley.

By Colleen Ferreira - WSBT-TV Reporter

MICHIGAN CITY — A LaPorte County prosecutor said a 34-year-old man beat a 4-year-old boy to death on Friday.

The LaPorte County coroner ruled Julian Hurley's death a homicide, saying the child died from multiple blunt force trauma injuries.

WSBT spoke with Rhonda Hurley, the victim's mother, on Tuesday afternoon about the tragedy that left her baby boy dead.

“I'm still in shock,” Hurley said. “I think I haven't had time to grieve as of right now."

Confused and angry, Hurley sat outside her West Williams Street home in a daze, refusing to accept reality.

“He loved to dance, he loved to ride his bike,” Hurley cried. “He was so, so funny."

LaPorte County Prosecutor Robert Szilagyi said 34-year-old Jimmy Isbell of Michigan City is responsible. He said Isbell beat Julian to death with his hand and a belt on Friday.

Prosecutors told The Times of Munster that no murder charge was filed because there's no proof Isbell intended to kill the child. Investigators say Isbell beat the boy for refusing to eat.

Ambulances were called to Hurley’s home around 4 Friday afternoon. Police say the paramedics found the boy unresponsive and transported him to the hospital. He died shortly after.

His mother called Julian "Pie Pie".

“Anything that’s good for you, he didn't like,” Hurley said. “It was cookies, cakes, snacks, cereals, Cheetos, cheese puffs, French fries."

Isbell is now in custody at LaPorte County Jail. He was being held on two felony counts of neglect of a dependent and one felony count of battery with a $100,000 bond.

Hurley can't fathom that her friend of 20 years is accused of abusing her baby boy.

“I want him to know how many people he's destroyed,” Hurley said. “My life will never ever be the same. I will hurt from the bottom of my soul for the rest of my life."

Police said Isbell was taking care of Hurley's kids after she was arrested in September. The police and prosecutors would not tell WSBT why she was arrested, but she was released from jail on Monday.

Police told Rhonda that her 7-year-old son who lived in the home witnessed the beating first-hand. He is now in the care of Child Protective Services.

Hurley has another 8-year-old son who lives with his father.

Jennifer Ginther lives right down the street from Hurley's home. She struggled to understand how a caretaker could commit such a crime.

“At 4 years old I don’t think there’s anything that horrible that a child could do to deserve that type of beating," Ginther said.

Police said the investigation is ongoing.

Trial set for man linked to child’s death


March 11, 2011
MICHIGAN CITY — Jimmy Isbell will go to trial Sept. 12.

Charged with battery and two counts of neglect of a dependent in connection with the Jan. 14 death of 4-year-old Julian (Bowen) Hurley, Isbell, 34, appeared Thursday with his attorney, James Cupp, in Judge Kathleen Lang’s La Porte Superior Court I.

When Julian died, Isbell was taking care of him, his 7-year-old brother and Isbell’s own son, a 3-year old, while Julian’s mother, Rhonda Hurley, was in La Porte County Jail for probation revocation from an original charge of welfare fraud.

Also Thursday, Deputy Prosecutor John Espar told the court he will add a charge of habitual offender to the aggravated battery charge now faced by Nathaniel Gardner, 34.

Espar said Gardner’s criminal history in Illinois warrants the additional charge.

The habitual-offender charge requires that the accused have two additional and unrelated felonies on his record, the prosecutor added.

Espar also said he believes Gardner’s bond — $25,000, or 10 percent cash — was “set at an unconscionably low level by a judge pro tem who does not practice criminal law.”

Defense attorney Pamela Krause, however, argued the state should have entered its objection to the bond when it was set.

Gardner, Krause and Espar will be in court again next Thursday after the judge has had an opportunity to review Gardner’s criminal history

“(Gardner) poses a threat to the community,” Espar said.

http://thenewsdispatch.com/articles/2011/03/18/news/local/doc4d79b17975912129353381.txt