OWEN LAFFERTY - 9 Months - Rhinelander WI

by TomTerrific0420 Sun Apr 29, 2012 1:54 pm

The Rhinelander man accused of beating a nine-month-old baby while he was babysitting had his bail reduced today.

Christopher
Schimke, 23, is charged with three felonies, including child abuse,
strangulation and suffocation,and reckless endangerment.

Schimke appeared in court Friday by video from Oneida County jail, and he most likely won't be leaving any time soon.

Judge Conrad Richards originally set bail at $50,000 after seeing photos of the baby's injuries.

Today, Schimke's lawyer, Brian Bennett, asked for a reduced bail of $1,000.
Court commissioner Kirk Reese reduced bail to $25,000.

Bennett said it's unlikely Schimke will be able to raise that bail.

"Typically,
when we see a $50,000 bond, it's because we see a murder or some other
serious felony. And while I'm not depreciating the level of the
allegations here, the reality is that we only see that kind of bond very
rarely and I don't think this was one of those times, and I think the
judge agreed with me on that," Bennett said.

Schimke allegedly beat nine-month-old Owen Lafferty April 10 while he was babysitting.

Melinda
Lafferty, Owen's mother, was at Schimke's court appearance. She said
it was the first time she had seen Schimke since April 10.

"That
part was a little emotional," she said. "I don't like the fact that I
haven't heard him apologize yet. It just kind of bothers me a little."

In the criminal complaint, Schimke admitted to hitting, strangling, and suffocating the baby.

"It's
something that we're going to have to work with," Bennett said. "In
these cases, it's not a matter of asking what happened, but asking why
it happened. And that's something we're going to have to look into
here."

Lafferty says Owen's medical examinations since the incident do not indicate any permanent damage.

Schimke is due back in court Wednesday, May 2.

http://www.wjfw.com/print_story.html?SKU=20120427171316