DEREK HANSEN - 19 Months (2011) - Griffith (SW of Gary) IN

Man charged with neglect in death of girlfriend’s son

Feb 17, 2011 06:06PM

A 24-year-old northwest
Indiana man was charged with neglect of a dependent Thursday after his
girlfriend’s 19-month-old child was fatally injured while he was
babysitting earlier this week.

State child welfare officials are also
investigating the death of Derek Hansen of Griffith, Ind., who died
early Thursday after hitting his head in the home.

The child was pronounced dead at 12:10
a.m. Thursday at the University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital,
according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.

Griffith Police Chief Ron Kottka said the toddler was injured Tuesday night and had been hospitalized ever since.

On Feb. 15, David Steven Golub, 24, of
Highland, Ind., was babysitting Derek, his girlfriend’s son, and Derek’s
eight-month-old brother in their mother’s apartment in the 1000 block
of East 35th Avenue in Griffith. The boys’ mother was at work at the
time, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in Lake Superior
Court.

Police and ambulances arrived at the
residence and found Derek lying naked on the living room floor gasping
for breath, the release said. Officers observed a very large contusion
on the back of his head, the affidavit states.

Derek was taken to Munster Community
Hospital and then airlifted to University of Chicago Medical Center,
Derek was declared brain dead and officially pronounced dead about 24
hours later, according to the affidavit.

Preliminary indications are that Derek
suffered from bilateral multi-layered retinal hemorrhages and cerebral
hemorrhaging, and medical personnel determined the death was the result
of child abuse.

An autopsy will be performed Friday, the medical examiner’s office said.

Golub initially told police he was
asleep for a few minutes and was awakened by Derek falling off the love
seat onto the carpeted floor. He said Derek was unresponsive and he saw
the injury to the back of the child’s head.

But Golub then admitted that he was
twirling Derek very fast, holding him by his ankles, when the child’s
head struck the side of the entertainment center and Golub dropped the
child to the floor, the affidavit states.

He told police he did not call 911
immediately because he was scared. Several times during the interview,
Golub referred to Derek as the “f---in kid,” a police officer stated in
the affidavit.

Golub, who has been in custody since the
incident, was charged Thursday afternoon with neglect of a dependent,
Kottka said. The Class A felony charge is punishable by 20 to 50 years
in prison.

The Indiana Department of Child Services
has an “open assessment” into the the death and is working in
partnership with law enforcement, spokeswoman Ann Houseworth said
Thursday.

Derek’s brother was taken into
protective custody, according to Houseworth, who said the agency has not
had previous contact with the family.
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/3871557-418/child-dead-after-striking-head-in-indiana.html

Posters note: This guy used the same story as Chloe Gessner's perp All those friends of his crying accident need to read this IMO.

Highland man accused in baby’s death gets trial delay
By Ruth Ann Krause Post-Tribune correspondent November 21, 2011 3:04PM

A judge has agreed to delay the murder trial of a Highland man charged in the February death of his former girlfriend’s toddler son.

Lake Superior Court Judge Salvador Vasquez granted the request by defense attorney Richard Wolter Jr., on behalf of David Steven Golub, 24, who was scheduled for trial beginning Dec. 5 on charges of murder, battery and neglect of a dependent in the Feb. 15 death of Derek Hansen.

Wolter said he must review “several hundred” recordings of phone calls Golub made from the jail over several months’ time, some of which may be used in the prosecution’s case.

In addition, Wolter said the deposition of the boy’s mother revealed information for him to pursue with additional depositions.

Golub, who has pleaded not guilty, had been babysitting his girlfriend’s two young children at an apartment at 1018 E. 35th Avenue. Golub initially told police the baby fell off the love seat onto the carpeted floor, then admitted he had lied. Golub then told police he was twirling the child around very fast by his ankles when the child’s head struck the side of the entertainment center.

After striking the entertainment center, he dropped the child on the floor. In a statement to police, Golub admitted he didn’t call 911 because he was scared, the probable cause affidavit states.

The baby was pronounced dead early the next morning at University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital. Medical personnel there concluded Derek was the victim of severe shaking and multiple impacts to his head, court records state.

Golub’s case is set for trial starting April 30.

http://posttrib.suntimes.com/news/lake/8986786-418/highland-man-accused-in-babys-death-gets-trial-delay.html

A 40-year sentence awaits a Highland man charged with murder in the death of a 19-month-old boy who has pleaded guilty to a lesser crime.

David Steven Golub, 23, pleaded guilty to battery in the beating death of Derek Hansen, his then-girlfriend’s son.

Golub was left to care for the child while the boy’s mother was at work. Derek was crying, which frustrated and angered Golub. Golub admitted he forcefully shook Derek and slammed his head into the floor multiple times. The crime occurred Feb. 15, 2011, in an apartment in the 1000 block of East 35th Avenue, Griffith.

The baby was airlifted to University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital, where he was diagnosed with inflicted abusive head trauma, including bleeding within the brain, multiple skull fractures, retinal hemorrhages and a broken elbow. Derek Hansen died two days after police and ambulance found the child unresponsive and gasping for breath.

Lake Superior Court Judge Salvador Vasquez took the plea agreement under advisement and scheduled an April 30 sentencing hearing. If the judge accepts the agreement, charges of murder and neglect of a dependent will be dismissed.

http://posttrib.suntimes.com/news/lake/11679718-418/golub-pleads-guilty-to-battery-in-death-of-toddler.html

“You’re a child murderer. You murdered a baby. You murdered my grandson because he cried.”

With those words, Donald Walter Hansen, the
grandfather of 19-month-old Derek Hansen, began to describe for Lake
Superior Court Judge Salvador Vasquez how difficult it’s been since
David Steven Golub battered the child and caused his death last year.
“There’s so much day-by-day that we deal with because of your actions,”
Hansen said.

Golub, 25, of Highland, admitted he violently shook
the toddler and slammed his head into the floor multiple times because
his crying angered and frustrated Golub. On April 2, Golub pleaded
guilty to battery in exchange for a 40-year sentence and dismissal of
other felony charges. Vasquez imposed the 40-year term.

The baby, the son of a girlfriend Golub said he’d
known for a couple months, was unresponsive and gasping for breath when
police and medics arrived on Feb. 15, 2011, at an apartment in the 1000
block of East 35th Avenue in Griffith. The baby died two days later at
University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital after being diagnosed
with inflicted abusive head trauma. Derek’s injuries included bleeding
within the brain, multiple skull fractures, retinal hemorrhages and a
broken elbow.

“I want you to suffer every day just like our
family does,” Hansen said. “I want you to think about it every day you
wake up in confinement. You did not batter my grandson. You murdered
him.”

Golub told Vasquez that he made “the most tragic
mistake” in his life and would trade places with the boy if he could.
Golub said he prays for the child’s family that they can recover from
what he did.

“There is no excuse for what happened,” said Golub. “I can never explain how truly sorry I am.”

Defense attorney Richard Wolter Jr., in asking
Vasquez to accept the plea agreement outlining the 40-year sentence,
said his client had written the statement he read in court before the
plea agreement was submitted. Wolter said the agreement, which spared
Golub the maximum 65-year prison sentence on a murder charge, was the
product of about one year of negotiations with prosecutors over whether
Golub acted knowingly or intentionally in causing Hansen’s death.

Trial supervisor Kathleen O’Halloran said Derek’s
violent death continues to devastate the boy’s family but noted that
Golub was willing to accept what she considered a harsh prison sentence.


Before Hansen took the witness stand, he stared at
Golub and took a couple steps toward the defense table. “It’s the first
time I’ve laid eyes on this animal,” Hansen told the judge as bailiffs
and court security personnel moved forward to intervene if necessary.

“I understand. It’s tough, but you’re in a courtroom now,” Vasquez replied.

There were no incidents during the hearing.
http://www.suntimes.com/news/12230875-418/highland-man-gets-40-years-for-babys-death.html

The mother should have been charged also. She was aware of this man's propensity towards violence.

She is still free to drag more POSs home, still free to breed more children for them to abuse and murder.