DYLAN GEORGE - 2 yo (2004) - Hayward/Fremont CA

A Fremont foster father
charged with fatally pummeling a 2-year-old boy because he was being
defiant was found guilty Thursday of second-degree murder and assault
on a child causing death.Terry Howard Corder, 45, was found
guilty as charged at the Hayward Hall of Justice a little more than a
day after jurors began deliberating.Corder will return to court
Oct. 15 for sentencing. The charges for which he was convicted carry
sentences of at least 15 years to life, and 25 years to life in state
prison.The guilty verdict brings to an end a five-year homicide
case that left the family of the victim, Dylan James George, distraught
and emotional."It's very hard for five years to have that open
wound. It's been very hard for the family," Dylan's grandmother, Cheryl
Keeling, said. "I'm glad it's over, glad he (Corder) got what he
deserved. I didn't want Dylan to be forgotten. "... Justice has been
served." Dylan had been in the care of Terry and Sherrie Corder
in their Fremont home for less than three weeks when the boy was
assaulted about the head Oct. 2, 2004, because he refused to eat and
then apparently bit both of his foster parents, according to testimony.
The boy died two days later at Children's Hospital Oakland from
what pathologists ruled to be blunt trauma to the head. An autopsy
showed there were more than 20 bruises on top of the boy's head and a
large contusion on his forehead.Sherrie Lynn Corder, also 45, at one time was charged
with murder, but since has accepted a plea agreement in exchange for
her testimony. She has pleaded guilty to child endangerment and will be
sentenced in the near future to either four or six years in state
prison.Sherrie Corder and two of her three daughters
testified against Terry Corder during the nearly monthlong trial.
Sherrie Corder painted her husband as a man whose temper would rage
when he drank, which she accused him of doing the day the boy was
assaulted.The wife said that her husband forced Dylan to march
in circles Oct. 2, 2004, and then hit him on the head with his knuckles
each time the boy passed by. Terry Corder later knocked the boy to the
floor and kicked him in the head as he lay on the ground, she said."It was hard enough that it moved Dylan a couple of inches," she testified about the force of the kick.The
younger of the two daughters testified that she saw he father hit Dylan
just as her mother described, while the older daughter said her father
took Dylan to another room, and presumably slammed him against a wall
on the same evening.The morning after the assault, Dylan was found to be blue in the face and not breathing. Sherrie
Corder testified that she called 911 and told authorities that the boy
fell in the bathtub the night before, an alibi that she later testified
was contrived by her husband. She also said that before police arrived,
Terry Corder had wished they could hide the boy's body.Jury
foreman Suellyn Steigmeyer, who is an emergency room nurse, said jurors
all thought the testimony from the Corders' daughters — each of whom
are in foster care — was most credible because they detailed the abuse."It was very sad, very emotional for everybody," she said.Dylan's aunt, Desiree Keeling, lauded the efforts of the prosecutor, and said Dylan will never be forgotten."He
was in court with me every day with his precious face tattooed on my
arm," she said. "Dylan is my little hero and I miss him so much. My
little angel is watching us from above."Dylan's biological grandmother, Marian Desgroux, also expressed joy with the jury's decision."I'm glad that God prevailed and justice was done for our grandson," she said.Dylan
had been removed from his mother's care in September 2004 after his
4-month-old bother, Justin, died from sudden infant death syndrome. Dylan
had two supervised visits with his mother, Monica Mireles, after he was
placed into foster care. According to testimony, the boy had become
increasingly agitated after the visits, possibly because he missed his
family.

A Fremont man convicted of killing his 2-year-old foster child has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.An
Alameda County Superior Court judge sentenced 45-year-old Terry Howard
Corder Thursday in the 2004 death of Dylan James George. Corder was
found guilty in September of second-degree murder and assault on a
child, causing death.Authorities say Corder beat George on Oct.
2, 2004 because the boy refused to eat. George died two days later from
blunt trauma. He had been staying with Corder and his wife Sherrie for less than three weeks.Sherrie
Corder is scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday after pleading guilty to
child endangerment. Prosecutors agreed to drop a murder charge in
exchange for her testimony against her husband.