PRESTON VENSAND - 16 months (2008) - Sioux Falls SD

Trial has begun for a Sioux Falls man charged with killing his girlfriend's
toddler.
Twenty-seven-year-old Christopher Fisher earlier pleaded not guilty to
alternate charges of second-degree murder and manslaughter stemming from the
death of 16-month-old Preston Vensand on Thanksgiving 2008.
Authorities say autopsy results show the boy died of head injuries consistent
with being shaken.
During opening statements Thursday, prosecutors said a frustrated Fisher
shook the crying child the night before his death until his brain began to
bleed. Defense lawyers said detectives coerced a confession from their client
with inaccurate medical information.
Fisher's trial is scheduled to run through next week.

A Sioux Falls man has been found guilty of killing his girlfriend's
toddler on Thanksgiving Day two years ago, after a trial that lasted
nine days.
The jury deliberated more than six hours Thursday before convicting
27-year-old Christopher Fisher on a manslaughter charge in the 2008
death of 16-month-old Preston Vensand.

Authorities said autopsy results showed the boy died of head injuries
consistent with being shaken. Fisher's lawyers maintained that
investigators badgered a confession out of their client.

Fisher had faced alternate charges of second-degree murder and
manslaughter. He still could face life in prison on the manslaughter
conviction.