EVAN J DUDLEY - 18 months - (11/2012) - / Charged: Justin K. Corbett - Dover, DE

Airman, 25, 'murdered 21-month-old boy' left in his family's care under Air Force-approved plan while single mom was deployed overseas

By Helen Pow
PUBLISHED: 21:41 EST, 19 February 2014 | UPDATED: 21:41 EST, 19 February 2014




A 25-year-old airman in Delaware is accused of murdering a toddler who was left in his care under an Air Force-approved plan while the child's staff sergeant mother was deployed in the Middle East.
Justin K. Corbett was arrested Tuesday and charged with murder by abuse or neglect in recklessly causing the death of Evan J. Dudley in 2012. He is being held in lieu of $100,000 cash bail at the Vaughn Correctional Center.
While not his main carers, Corbett and his wife, Aubrey, would occasionally watch little Evan while his mom, Nicole Dudley, was serving in Qatar. The arrangement was part of a family-care plan approved by the Air Force.

However, in the afternoon of November 3, 2012, Corbett, who was assigned to Dover Air Force Base, called 911 from his base housing home and told dispatchers the boy had fallen down a flight of carpeted stairs and was unresponsive.



Charged: Justin K. Corbett, pictured, was arrested Tuesday and charged with murder by abuse or neglect in recklessly causing the death of Evan J. Dudley in 2012


Evan was initially rushed to Kent General Hospital where he was assessed and then transferred to Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in critical condition with head injuries and multiple bruises on his body, Sgt. Paul Shavack of the Delaware State Police told Delaware Online.

He died four days later due to the injuries, which included a detached retina, excessive swelling and bleeding in his brain and numerous bruises on his head. His mom, who had flown back from Qatar, was by his side in his hospital bed when the life support was switched off.
 
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The state Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide by blunt force trauma.

But a lengthy state police investigation ensued, including an Attorney General's Office review. Then the case was sent to a child abuse expert and pediatric pathologist for review because certain injuries were noted during the boy's autopsy.

Both experts agreed Evan was a homicide victim, Shavack said Wednesday. Several people described Evan to investigators as being 'healthy and normal' up until the day he went to visit the Corbett family that day, according to court documents.
Troopers and agents from the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations went to Corbett's home Tuesday and arrested him.

He has been charged with murder by abuse or neglect in recklessly causing the death of a child.






Military mom: While not his main carers, Corbett and his wife, Aubrey, would occasionally watch little Evan, pictured right, while his mom, Nicole Dudley, left, was serving in Qatar




Air Force approved: Evan's care arrangement was part of a family-care plan approved by the Air Force

'We knew it was going to take some time to properly charge him, only because of the complexity of the investigation,' Shavack told Delaware Online on Wednesday.

'Child death cases can be among some of the most complex cases that we investigate.'

This is because children this young cannot speak and there are often no witnesses.

Dudley wrote Wednesday afternoon on a Facebook page she set up called 'Evan's Heaven' that she's relieved an arrest has been made in the case and that she's closer in her quest justice for her baby.

'The past 15 months and 11 days have been a non-stop emotional roller coaster for me and my family,' the emotional mother wrote.




'From the moment the doctor gave his characterization of Evan's injuries at A.I. Dupont Hospital, to receiving word of last night's arrest, I've alternated between grief, anger, depression and anxiety ... I can now add hope to the list, as the arrest gives me the feeling that resolution and justice for Evan are within reach.'

She said she was confident Deputy Attorney General Josette Manning and the Delaware Department of Justice will do everything they can to ensure justice is served.

Slow process: The state Medical Examiner ruled the child's 2012 death a homicide by blunt force trauma but a lengthy state police investigation ensued, including an Attorney General's Office review
When Dudley was sent in May 2012 to Qatar with the 436th Logistics Readiness Squadron, a supply unit, she selected Evan's godmother, Nicole Payne, and her boyfriend, Dave Holecek, as his primary caretakers.

However, it was arranged that he would occasionally visit the Corbett home to play with the couple's young son and daughter. It's not clear how Dudley and the Corbetts knew each other or if in fact they did.
Justin Corbett was alone with Evan and his own 18-month-old child when the incident happened.

Dudley said when she spoke to the doctor treating her dying son while she was still in Qatar, he told her Evan wouldn't survive and that what happened to him, in his view, wasn't an accident, but an assault.

She immediately flew home to Delaware in time to lie in the hospital bed with Evan for less than two days before he was taken off life support.

She added in the Facebook post Wednesday: 'I'd like to thank my immediate and Air Force families, friends, and supporters both known and unknown, for their constant outpouring of support and encouragement throughout this difficult time.

'We are one step closer in the quest for Justice for Evan, and I'll keep fighting until justice is served.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2563505/Airman-25-murdered-21-month-old-boy-left-familys-care-Air-Force-approved-plan-single-mom-deployed-overseas.html