JACK STARK - 9 Months/ Accused: Aunt and Uncle Christopher and Joni Leutwyler - Oak Grove KY

iPosted: Saturday, June 9, 2012 12:00 am | Updated: 4:13 pm, Sat Jun 9, 2012.
By Benjamin Joubert, New Era Staff Writer | 0 Comments
A married couple was recently indicted by a Christian County grand jury on charges that they beat their 9-month-old nephew to death, according to court records.
Joni and Christopher Leutwyler, both 27 and from Oak Grove, are charged with murder and first-degree criminal abuse.
On April 3, an infant in cardiac arrest was taken to Blanchfield Army Hospital on Fort Campbell. Soon after arriving at the hospital, the child was flown to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn., where he died two days later.
Doctors said the boy had severe head trauma and brain hemorrhaging consistent with child abuse. The injuries were 24 to 36 hours old and were the result of “a lot of force,” the doctors said.
The infant was being watched by the Leutwylers while the boy’s mother was out of town.
Christopher Leutwyler sent a picture to the boy’s mother the day before, and the child did not appear to have any injuries, police said.
The Leutwylers were arrested on April 5. They told police that the boy hit his head on a coffee table and also fell in the bathroom.
There were bruises on the child’s arms, legs, chest and back, detectives said.