MATTHEW THOMAS - 4 months - Troy NY

The prosecution in the murder trial of Adrian Thomas focused on the
testimony of a Rensselaer County medical examiner to prove that his son
died as a result of blunt-force trauma.

Dr. Michael Sikirica, who conducted the autopsy on 4-month-old Matthew Thomas in late
September of 2008, said Friday he found evidence of both prior and
recent subdermal hemorrhages in the boy’s brain upon examination.

Thomas, who weighed some 500 pounds at the time of the incident, was charged
with second-degree murder after he allegedly slammed the infant down on
a bed from shoulder height on three separate occasions prior to the
development of the boy’s respiratory problems and ultimate death.

Ingrid Effman, a public defender assigned to Thomas’ case, has maintained that
the infant’s death was more likely caused by a pre-existing medical
condition known as septicemia, where bacteria in the blood can cause a
shutdown of the body’s organs.

When questioned by First Assistant District Attorney Arthur Glass about whether symptoms of
sepsis had been observed during the boy’s medical treatment, Sikirica
noted that a bacterial infection had been later identified in the
infant’s blood suggesting sepsis, but believed that was likely a
secondary result of trauma.

“I think there were repeated bouts of trauma to this brain,” said Sikirica. “I think that sepsis came secondary to the trauma.”

Sikirica explained that he had conducted a thorough examination of the infant’s
body and had carefully removed and studied the boy’s brain and eyes due
to the allegations that head trauma may have caused his death.

As was demonstrated by an autopsy photo presented to the jury, Sikirica
found hemorrhaging on the right side and top of the boy’s skull, which
he said indicated blunt-force trauma, and significant swelling of the
brain.

While the boy’s prior medical exams and autopsy revealed
no visible bruising on the skin, Sikirica said that was common among
infants, especially if their bodies had struck an object that was too
soft to leave a mark.

“Children can have very serious injuries and you don’t see a darned thing,” said Sikirica.

He also noted that the infant’s kidneys, liver, and a portion of his
pancreas had been removed for donation prior to the autopsy.

Effman tried to poke holes in his autopsy report during her cross examination,
but Sikirica would not budge on his belief that while sepsis likely
contributed to the boy’s death, trauma was the direct cause.

She pointed out that Sikirica had reviewed a copy of the written statement
Thomas gave to police before filing his report and questioned whether
he would have reached the same conclusions without that in front of him.

Effman previously stated that if septicemia was the real cause of death, Thomas’ admission would constitute a false confession.

“I would have come to the same conclusions,” said Sikirica. “Sepsis is not the cause of this child’s death.”

She also repeatedly asked whether Sikirica was an expert or specialist in
pediatric infectious disease — as a witness who is expected to be
called by the defense next week reportedly is.

“I am a specialist in putting the pieces together,” said Sikirica, adding that
the sepsis was most likely caused by pneumonia brought on by repeated
head trauma which could have caused the boy to aspirate, or swallow his
own fluids and helped create the infection.

Effman also noted that the autopsy report was not filed until seven months after the
autopsy took place and questioned whether that was an appropriate time
to have completed it.

“In this case, it was,” said Sikirica. “I had a brain cutting to do, had to wait for toxicology samples, and I
had a very busy schedule.”

The trial will resume Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. with Judge Andrew Ceresia presiding.

Minutes before Adrian Thomas was sentenced to the maximum of 25 years
to life in state prison for murdering his infant son, the child’s
mother told the 27-year-old he was never much of a father at all.

“Adrian,
what you took from us we can never get back,” Wilhelmina Hicks said
calmly in a victim impact statement before the Court. “You took a gift
from God that He put in your hands to bring up and raise into a man.”

“You
told us how bad of a life you had with your family, so I thought you
would be a good parent to your children because you didn’t have that,”
she said at another point. “But your life was a lie.”

Judge
Andrew G. Ceresia handed down the harshest possible sentence to Thomas
on Thursday, noting the “heinous nature” of the crime.

A jury found him guilty of second-degree murder on Oct. 23 following a nearly month-long trial.

The
jury, which deliberated for almost 26 hours, concluded that 4-month-old
Matthew Thomas died from head trauma sustained when his father slammed
him down on a bed in anger three times over four days in September 2008.

“A parent’s greatest responsibility is to protect their children,” Ceresia said. “In that regard, the defendant is a failure.”

The
trial consisted of a slew of medical experts on both sides who gave
opposing causes of the child’s death. But perhaps the most damning
evidence against Thomas was a nine-hour videotaped police interview,
shown to the jury in full, in which he eventually admitted slamming the
child down after arguing with his wife.

The prosecution argued those actions were consistent with blood found on the child’s brain.

Thomas
claimed on the stand during his trial that he was coerced into making
that admission by police. He maintained his innocence when given the
opportunity to speak Thursday.

“Your Honor, I’d like to put on
the record that I’m innocent. I love my son, my family and my wife,” he
said. “The charges against me are false and wrong.”

Assistant
Public Defender Ingrid Effman said an appeal would be filed on numerous
grounds, including questioning the admissibility of the videotape.

Several
experts testified for the defense at trial that the child died of a
bacterial infection that entered his bloodstream, and Effman told the
jury in her closing statement that if they believed it was possible
that septic shock killed the child, that belief would constitute
reasonable doubt and warrant an acquittal.

Annie Pearl Black,
Thomas’s adoptive mother, said over the telephone from Georgia that the
length of the jury’s deliberations gave her a false sense of hope.

She could not travel to Troy for the sentencing but sat through the duration of the trial.

“Someone
in there believed in Adrian. Whoever that is, I thank them,” she said.
“But somehow they rolled over and sent an innocent man to prison. I’m
asking God to have that verdict turned when it goes to a higher court.”

She said her son was “a sweet boy” who would never harm a child.

Thomas
signed orders of protection Thursday that bar him from contacting Hicks
or the family’s six remaining children. Those orders are in effect for
the next 98 years, effective

ly the rest of his life.

Before
the sentence was handed down, Assistant District Attorney Christa Book
read a statement from 10-year-old India Hicks, the eldest child in the
family and the only of seven who lived with the family on 21st Street
not fathered by Thomas.

The children have been reunited with their mother after spending a year in foster care.

“When
you lived at home, I felt scared and closed in,” India Hicks’s
statement to Thomas read. “Everything that happened changed my life.”

Though the child also noted she’s happy to back with her mother, she said she still has “a lot of anger inside.”

Her mother said some of the children do not remember their father, who has been jailed for more than year.

Among
the children is Malachi Thomas, Matthew’s identical twin, whom
Wilhelmina Hicks said she will one day have to tell a heartbreaking
story about a brother he never knew.

But most of her statement was directed to the defendant, who listened and exhibited little expression.

“It’s
just you and that cell, and years going by and time for you to think
about how you messed up your life because you didn’t want to be a man
and be a good parent,” she told him. “A parent doesn’t hurt their
children.”