LUCAS CHANDLER - 16 Days (2009) - Winchester KY

WINCHESTER, Ky. -- Police in Winchester have arrested the parents of an infant that died last year.The
Winchester Sun reports 24-year-old Christopher Chandler of Georgetown
and 23-year-old Amanda Tolson of Winchester were arrested Monday after
a grand jury indicted them last week on murder charges.The
newspaper reports their 16-day-old son, Lucas, died in March 2009,
three days after he was taken to the hospital because he wasn’t
breathing right.An autopsy found he died from blunt force trauma to his head.

A Clark County man charged with the murder of his 2-week old son says he had nothing to do with the boy's death.

Police
charged Christopher Chandler with murder after the baby, Lucas, died
last March from what the medical examiner called blunt force trauma to
the head. Both Chandler and Lucas' mother Amanda Tolson are indicted
for murder.



Chandler spoke with the media and said that neither he nor Tolson hurt the baby.

"How
does a 14-day-old baby who can't roll over, raise his head...if you're
gonna ask me the same questions, this is over. I'm just asking how does
a child like that get those injuries? You tell me. You tell me so I
can know. I'm asking too. I wish somebody would let me know."

Nearly a year ago, Lucas Chandler’s life ended after 16 days.

On Monday afternoon, his parents went to jail after being charged with his death.

Christopher Chandler, 24, of Georgetown, and Amanda Tolson, 23, of 348 Hill St., were indicted Thursday for murder for causing injuries that led to the death of their infant son, Lucas.

The boy died on March 25, 2009, in a Lexington hospital.

Winchester Police Sgt. Tom Beall said the boy’s parents called for an ambulance on March 22 and said Lucas “wasn’t breathing right.” The child was transported to Clark Regional Medical Center and then to the University of Kentucky Medical Center, where he died three days later.

An autopsy determined that Lucas died of blunt force trauma to the head, Beall said. Medical examiners also found a skull fracture at the back of Lucas’ head. There were no other injuries, Beall said.

Officers searched the couple’s residence the day after Lucas was admitted, but didn’t find anything indicative of a weapon. At that time, police didn’t know of the skull fracture, he said.

“We don’t know what actually impacted the baby’s head,” he said.

Both Chandler and Tolson were arrested without incident Monday on warrants issued Thursday afternoon. Tolson did not make a statement to police following her arrest; though Chandler did, Beall said the content was similar to previous statements. Both had been interviewed by police earlier in the investigation, the officer said.

“We conducted a lengthy investigation because we didn’t want to jump the gun,” Beall explained.

Both suspects were lodged in the Clark County Detention Center on a $50,000 cash bond each.

The couple have two other children, but there were no allegations of violence toward the other two, Beall said. Both were placed in other residences by social workers following the child’s death, he said.

October trial set for parents in infant's death

Posted: Apr 18, 2010 12:19 PM CDT
Updated: Apr 18, 2010 12:20 PM CDT
WINCHESTER, KY (AP) - The trial of a central Kentucky couple charged with murder in the death of their infant son has been set for October.

The Winchester Sun reported that 24-year-old Christopher Chandler of Georgetown and 23-year-old Amanda Tolson of Winchester face charges in the death of their 16-day-old son Lucas on March 25, 2009.

Clark Circuit Judge William Clouse scheduled the trial to begin Oct. 25. Attorneys expect the trial to last about a week.

Chandler and Tolson have pleaded not guilty.

The newspaper cited city police records which show the couple called for an ambulance on March 22, saying their 16-day-old son, named Lucas, "wasn't breathing right." The boy died three days later at a Lexington hospital of a skull fracture at the back of his head.

http://www.wave3.com/story/12331123/october-trial-set-for-parents-in-infants-death?redirected=true

Infant murder trial delayed 6 months

March 11, 2011|By Fred Petke | The Winchester Sun


It will be another six months before the parents stand trial for the death of their 16-day-old son.

Amanda Tolson, 24, and Christopher Chandler, 25, were to be tried for murder next month in the death of their son Lucas.

Thursday afternoon, Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Charles Johnson asked to postpone the case until the fall due to the number of doctors expected to testify in the case.

“This trial could actually have seven physicians in it,” Johnson told Clark Circuit Judge William Clouse. “We intend on calling them all (to testify) live. If we don’t have lots of lead time, we’ll never get all the doctors here.”

Those physicians could include out-of-state experts, he said.

Clouse set aside five days for the trial, beginning Oct. 24, and said it could be extended if needed.

The trial was already postponed once, from October 2010 to April 2011, while attorneys were waiting for evidence and reports from analyses to be completed and distributed.

Chandler, of Georgetown, and Tolson, of 348 Hill St., were arrested in February 2010, nearly a year after their son died in the University of Kentucky Medical Center.

An autopsy determined that Lucas Chandler died from a blunt force injury to the head and a skull fracture. There were no other injuries.

Police said Chandler and Tolson took Lucas to the hospital three days before he died and said he wasn’t breathing properly.

Police don’t know what caused the skull fracture and found nothing when they searched the home after Lucas was admitted to the hospital.

At the end of Thursday’s hearing, Tolson got another chance to make bond. While Chandler was released after posting a $50,000 bond months ago, Tolson and her family have not been able to post her bond, either with cash or property. Initially, Clouse denied the oral motion from Tolson’s attorney, Carl Gibson, for a reduced bond.

Later Thursday, Gibson and Chandler’s attorney returned with an offer from Chandler’s mother to let his bond cover both defendants.

Clouse denied that, but was reminded that $20,000 of Chandler’s bond was set aside to secure experts for the case. Clouse relented and reduced Tolson’s bond to $30,000 in cash or property.

Contact Fred Petke at fpetke@winchestersun.com.

http://articles.centralkynews.com/2011-03-11/news/28682151_1_chandler-and-tolson-clouse-bond

KY woman pleads guilty in newborn's death
Published 08:30 a.m., Friday, August 12, 2011

WINCHESTER, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky woman has pleaded guilty to reckless homicide in the 2009 death of her 17-day-old son.
Amanda Tolson, 24, of Winchester, entered the plea Thursday in Clark Circuit Court, The Winchester Sun (http://bit.ly/mRFPE0) reported.
Tolson and the child's father, 25-year-old Christopher Chandler of Georgetown, were initially charged with murder after Lucas Chandler died on March 25, 2009 in a Lexington hospital.
An autopsy determined that the child died from multiple injuries including a skull fracture.
Christopher Chandler previously pleaded guilty to second-degree hindering prosecution for lying to investigators and sentenced to 12 months in the Clark County Detention Center.
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