CHRISTIAN NORRIS - 3 yo (12/2010) - Bartlesville (I-75 North of Tulsa) OK

Bartlesville man held without bond in boy's death

12/10/2010 4:25 PM

BARTLESVILLE – A 22-year-old Bartlesville man charged with first-degree murder in the death of a 3-year-old boy is being held in jail without bond.


Joshua Robert Benton appeared via video monitor Friday before Associate District Judge Russell Vaclaw who found probable cause for his arrest on the charge.

Bartlesville police arrested Benton on Wednesday after he admitted using force against Christian Norris who died of blunt trauma.

“I am going to at this point not set any bond,” Vaclaw announced to Benton and a packed courtroom. “You will not be released.”

Vaclaw set a Tuesday hearing on a motion from the district attorney’s office to deny bond in the case. Benton indicated he likely would be seeking a court-appointed attorney to represent him.

Authorities were called Tuesday afternoon to a home in the 400 block of Northwest Aledo where the child lived with his mother, Shannon Hicks, and her boyfriend, Benton.

Christian was unresponsive and not breathing when the ambulance service arrived on the scene, a police affidavit stated. The toddler was transported to Jane Phillips Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

When hospital personnel and the Oklahoma Medical Examiner’s Office briefly examined Christian at the hospital there were “no obvious signs of injury or abuse found,” the affidavit stated. Hicks and Benton told authorities that the child had been ill the night before and was throwing up most of the night.

An autopsy performed by Dr. Andrew Sibley
at the State Medical Examiner’s Office determined Christian had broken bones and internal injuries, the affidavit stated.

“During Mr. Benton’s interview he admitted to using force on (Christian) during the late evening hours on 12-06-10,” Bartlesville Investigator Steve Birmingham stated in the affidavit.

“The force Mr. Benton described and demonstrated would be consistent with Dr. Sibley’s preliminary medical examination of (Christian) as to the cause of death.”

Benton, who worked as a Washington County jailer until his arrest Wednesday, is being held in a detention center in another county.

Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=14&articleid=20101210_11_0_BARTLE966001&allcom=1

Suspect Set to Appear: Three-year-old reportedly died from back injury

Friday, December 10, 2010 12:13 PM CST
A 22-year-old former jailer arrested on charges stemming from the death of a 3-year-old boy on Tuesday did not appear Thursday in Washington County Court as planned.

Joshua Robert Benton, of Bartlesville, was scheduled to appear in court to answer on charges of first degree murder in connection with the death of Christian Norris.

State Medical Examiner Spokeswoman Cherokee Ballard said Friday the child died from complications of a lumbar spine fracture — lower back — due to blunt force trauma. She said the cause of death is listed as a homicide.

Reportedly, Benton was scheduled to appear Thursday for initial apparent on the charge, but the probable cause affidavit was not ready by the 1:15 p.m. arraignment time.

Benton is scheduled to appear at 1:15 p.m. today.

According to Oklahoma law, persons in police custody must see a judge within 48 hours of their arrest. Today’s appearance will still fall within the 48-hour window for Benton, who was arrested at 3:20 p.m. Wednesday.Benton was arrested after an investigation into a toddler’s death on Dec. 7, which reportedly occurred at a residence at 402 Northwest Aledo in Bartlesville.

http://www.examiner-enterprise.com/articles/2010/12/12/news/news948.txt

Until recently, Benton had been employed at the Washington County Sheriff’s Office as a jailer for the county.

Washington County judge denies bond for suspect in Bartlesville toddler death case



22-year-old Joshua Benton is accused of first degree murder.

12/17/2010

BARTLESVILLE, Okla. - A Washington County
judge denied bond for a Bartlesville man arrested last week following
the death of a 3-year-old boy. 22-year-old Joshua Benton, charged
with first degree murder, appeared before a judge Friday in Washington
County District Court for a hearing following the state's motion to deny
his bond. Assistant District Attorney Will Drake told the judge
the state was making the request due to, among other reasons, the
seriousness of the crime and that conviction of such a crime would mean
life without bail for Benton. He said no bail amount would insure his
appearance in court. Benton's defense attorneys argued that while
they understood the seriousness of the crime alleged, they felt the
court did not have the “evidence for proof of guilt” or the “apparent
likelihood of conviction” necessary to hold Benton without bail as there
was no confession or statement by Benton giving such evidence. The
arguments followed testimony by Bartlesville Police Investigator Steven
Birmingham who was called to the stand as a witness. Birmingham, who
identified himself to the court as a detective specializing in child
abuse, explained he was one of the first on Dec. 7 to arrive to the
residence on the 400 block of Aledo after police were informed of the
unresponsive child at the scene. Birmingham said that during
interviews with Benton, whereas Benton at first said the child had
fallen off a couch or bed, possibly causing the injuries, he later said
the injuries may have occurred when he was drying off the child after
giving him a bath. He said he was holding the boy up next to his chest,
causing him to facing him, using one arm to support the child's lower
back, when the boy began “bucking.” He said he used his other hand to
push the boy's chest away from him, while the other arm still held on
the boy. Asked during the interview if he had used force in doing so, Benton “indicated he must have,” Birmingham told the court. Birmingham
earlier in his testimony said the medical examiner's office had
explained to him the autopsy showed the child had a “severely broken
lower back” and that the boy's right kidney had failed to function. Following
the testimony and arguments, the judge ruled to sustain the state's
motion to hold Benton without bail on grounds that “proof of guilt at
this present” based on Benton's statement he had used force and based on
the medical examiner's report on the cause of death. Furthermore, the judge set Benton's preliminary hearing date for March 1. Benton
was arrested last week on a complaint of first degree murder after he
was implicated in the death of 3-year-old Christian Norris following the
results of a medical examiner's report and police investigation. The
medical examiner's office had determined the child died from
complications from blunt force trauma to the lower back. According
to the case affidavit, Benton told police during the investigation he
had “used force” on the child the night before he died. Benton is currently being held an undisclosed location.

http://www.bartlesvillelive.com/dpp/news/local_news/washington-county-judge-denies-bond-for-suspect-in-bartlesville-toddler-death-case

When a Bartlesville mother heard a jury convicted a man of killing his girlfriend’s child she didn’t want the community to forget about the child.

"You see innocent children pass away and they are forgotten,” said Jennifer Nicole.

The mother didn’t know 3-year-old Christian Norris or his family but his story touched Nicole so much she is organizing a balloon release on Sunday.

On Thursday night a Washington County jury convicted Joshua Benton, 24, of First-Degree Murder in the death of Norris.

The former Washington County jailer could spend the rest of his life in prison for killing Christian in December 2010.

Prosecutors argued Benton broke Christian’s back while he was babysitting the child.

"It breaks my heart that people want to keep this all negative. It shouldn't be negative it should be positive for a boy that is gone,” said Nicole.

It’s still painful for Nicole who has been following Christian’s story since he died more than a year ago.

"Seeing the blonde hair boy like my son, just imagining someone hurting a child like that. I can’t picture that," said Nicole.

Her daughter who is only 15 is also touched by her mother’s effort to stand up for a child she didn’t know and who didn’t have a voice.

"It's horrible for a little kid to go through so much pain because they can't say help, they can’t do anything, they are suffering,” said her daughter Taylor.

A sad fact is that Christian is not the only child Nicole knew about in Bartlesville.

She knew Lindsay Fiddler before she became infamous for leaving her infant to die in a washing machine. Maggie Mae died in Bartlesville a month prior to Christian’s death.

"It's happened a lot in Bartlesville. Within a week the child is forgotten, people go on with their lives,” said Nicole. "I can be like everyone else and read the headlines and forget about him."

Nicole isn’t forgetting she’s organized a balloon release for Christian on Sunday.

“We want people to come out and release a balloon. Let the kids play together and if Christian were here he would be playing with the kids,” said Nicole.

In each balloon will be a special message for Christian that has the possibility of reaching a stranger in another state.

"We need to remember the little ones so it doesn't happen again,” said Nicole.

She is inviting anyone to the balloon release at Sooner Park on Sunday at 2 p.m.
Sooner Park is located on Madison between SE Adams Road and Tuxedo Boulevard.
Benton will be will formally sentenced on May 11^th at 1 p.m. A jury recommended life with parole.


http://www.fox23.com/news/local/story/Remembering-a-child-who-was-murdered/NWQBr4vr00GqbMJ1ABGw6A.cspx

A former Washington County jailer was sentenced to a life behind bars
Friday for his conviction in the 2010 death of a 3-year-old
Bartlesville boy.
Washington County District Judge Curtis DeLapp followed the jury’s
recommendation imposing a life imprisonment sentence for Joshua Robert Benton,
24, who was convicted in February of first-degree murder in the death of
Christian Norris.

The child’s mother, Shannon Hicks, told the court she has been
devastated by her son’s death.

“My family, my children and I have lived a nightmare,” Hicks said in a
statement to the court. “We have lived a life of horror and pain for months.”

The Oklahoma State Medical Examiner’s Office determined the toddler died of a
broken back and a kidney that quit functioning as a result of the
injury. Prosecutors maintain Benton broke the child’s back when he was
babysitting while Hicks was at the grocery store.

Benton has maintained his innocence and is appealing the conviction.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/specialprojects/news/crimewatch/article.aspx?subjectid=450&articleid=20120511_450_0_BRLSIL890439&allcom=1