DOMINICK CALHOUN - 4 yo (2010) - Argentine/Flint MI

Argentine MI ---- The Genesee County prosecutor’s office is expected to decide today
whether to charge a former Livingston County resident in connection to
the beating death of a 4-year-old child.



Argentine Township police said Dominick Calhoun, 4, was found lying
on the floor of a bedroom about 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Pinehurst
Apartments, 9087 Harper Street, after the boy’s paternal grandfather
reported the possible beating.The boy appeared to have
been beaten and had injuries on his entire body. Argentine Township
Police Chief Daniel Allen said the boy was "beaten from head to toe."
The beatings took place over two days, and injuries were inflicted by
fists and kicks, according to police. Calhoune was taken
to Hurley Medical Center in Flint, and placed on life support. He was
removed from life support and pronounced dead at 11:02 a.m. Monday. Police
arrested his 25-year-old mother, who was found next to her son and was
trying to comfort him, and the mother’s 24-year-old boyfriend, Brandon
Joshua-Frederick Hayes. The mother was later released from custody. Police
said the mother also had visible injuries to her head, face and body. "She
was definitely beaten," said Allen. Both the mother and
her other child, an 8-year-old son also found in the apartment were
taken to Hurley Medical Center. The 8-year-old received no injuries, and
was taken into Child Protective Services’ custody.Hayes,
the suspect in custody, is not the biological father of either of the
boys. A neighbor told Flint-area media that the 8-year-old
indicated the mom’s boyfriend “was stepping” on Calhoun’s head.“He
was stomping on his head, and kicking him in the ribs, punching him in
the face,” Patty Brown says the child told her.Several
neighbors reported hearing loud noises coming from the apartment, but no
one called the police, Allen said. He encourages residents to call
police when they suspect abuse is taking place. The family
had reportedly moved March 30 from Tyrone Township to Argentine Township.

A four-year-old boy died today after he was apparently beaten over a 24-hour period this weekend.

Argentine Township Police were called to 9087 Harper St. #408 for an injured and beaten child on Sunday, according to
police. Police found the boy on the floor in the east side bedroom.

Police said the boy appeared to have injuries all over his body,
and he was transported to Hurley Medical Center where he was listed in critical
condition and placed on life support. He was removed from life support this
morning, according to police.

His mother — who also had visible injuries to her face and body —
was found next to the boy when officers arrived,
according to police. The mother was also transported to Hurley.

After treatment, the boyfriend and mother were lodged in the Genesee County Jail and
police continue to investigate.

A Michigan man could face life in prison after he allegedly tortured
and ultimately killed his girlfriend's 4-year-old son last week for
wetting his pants, prosecutors say.



Brandon Joshua-Frederick
Hayes, 24, "systematically beat" Dominick Calhoun, 4, "pummeling [him]
with fists and kicking him" on his arms, legs and genitalia, Genesee
County prosecutor David Leyton told CNN. Hayes also apparently
burned the boy in the course of the torture. "The knuckles across one
hand were charred," Argentine Township police chief Dan Allen said. "I've
been doing this a long time, and this is the worst case of child abuse
I've ever seen," the police chief said. "In all respects, he was
tortured." Prosecutors arraigned Hayes on Thursday on nine
charges, including one count of first-degree premeditated murder, one
count of first-degree child abuse and one count of torture, which by
itself carries a possible life sentence. "Little Dominick met his
boogeyman, and that was defendant Hayes," Genesee County Sheriff Robert
Pickell said at a news conference Thursday. CNN was unable to
reach someone who could speak on Hayes' behalf. Hayes' motivation
for his savage multiday attack on the boy was that the child "had wet
his pants," Leyton said. "It had happened before." Hayes also
resented the child because his "biological father wouldn't pay child
support," Leyton said. Dominick's mother, Corrine Baker, was
present for at least some of the beating and tried to shield the boy
from Hayes' aggression, authorities said. "She tried to lay on
top of the child to guard the child against being beat any further, but
she was beat in the process," according to the police chief. The
sequence of events that led to the discovery of the abuse began when
Baker's sister and several acquaintances came to the apartment to buy
drugs from Hayes, according to Allen. After seeing Dominick's condition,
the sister alerted the boy's paternal grandfather, who in turn
contacted authorities. When emergency responders entered the
apartment on the afternoon of April 11, Dominick was "barely alive." EMS
transferred him to Hurley Hospital in Flint, where he was pronounced
brain dead. The boy was taken off life support the following
morning. Dominick's mother's whereabouts and actions through all
portions of the torture session remain somewhat hazy. The county
prosecutor said his office is "still investigating her involvement in
all this." "She's also culpable for putting him in the dangerous
position in the first place," he added. Baker was taken into
custody on Sunday but released later. Attempts to reach her at her home
Thursday evening were unsuccessful. The town police chief said
Baker and her son had been brought to the attention of Genesee County
Department of Child Services on several occasions.
It
was not immediately clear whether Baker's involvement with the child
services agency predated her relationship with Hayes. The police chief
said he believed Baker and Hayes had been together for about six months.

Lisa DeLong stole one her of last private moments with her grandson
as mourners filtered around her into a dimly lit church.
The 50-year-old Fenton woman gently rested her hand on his tiny white casket and cried as she
kissed its surface.
She, along with many others, said goodbye Friday to four-year-old Dominick Calhoun.
The Argentine Township boy was found severely beaten on April 11 after days
of torture, allegedly at the hands of his mother’s boyfriend.
He was removed from life support the following day after he was declared brain dead.
Dominick’s death made national headlines and a Facebook page in his memory — Justice
for Dominick Calhoun — had more than 15,000 fans as of Friday afternoon.




Eric Calhoun, 28, helps carry the casket of his 4 year-old
son Dominick, who was found severely beaten in his home on Sunday in Argentine
Township, to the hearse at the end of a funeral at the Fenton Freedom Center in
Fenton on Friday.

Friday, Dominick’s casket was surrounded by teddy bears and a toy dump
truck as children no older than him played in the aisles during the funeral
service and punctuated the tearful silences at the Fenton Freedom Center.

“It comforts me to know this: That regardless of how awful his last
moments were, the very next moment, he saw ... the face of God and he was safe,
and he was healed and he was loved,” said the Rev. Jim Wiegand, through tears.
Family members spoke about the little boy they loved, saying he “stole pretty
much every girl’s heart,” and they talked about the man they imagined him
growing to be.
His aunt, Christine Baker, 16, spoke during the service
and apologized to Dominick that his “Aunt ’Stine” was not there in time to help him.
“This bond and love we shared is something I’ll never have again,” said an emotional Baker.
She called the boy her angel and said he had an irreplaceable spot in her heart.
Other family members recounted humorous stories about the little boy who loved to make people laugh, including a time
Dominick asked an aunt if her boyfriend was the mailman because he visited so often.
A family friend, Aaron Nash, brought laughter from the crowd when
he said that Dominick “definitely knew how cute he was and he used it to his advantage.”
The boy was known for his bright blue eyes, blonde hair and big smile.
Nash remembered a time when he wasn’t feeling well, but Dominick wanted to play basketball.
“‘You better cheer up, Aaron, or I’m going, I’m going to beat you up,’” Nash recounted Dominick’s threat. “I’m sure you can all
imagine how scared I was.” Nash said the little boy then flexed his “guns” to show he meant business.
Wiegand praised Dominick’s fearless spirit and said he was a little boy who always wanted to “do it, and do it fast.”
He said Dominick’s life was short, but “well invested” as he pointed to the outpouring of grief following his death.
That outpouring was visible Friday as a sea of people wearing blue ribbons for child abuse
awareness month and blue hats with Dominick’s name stitched on the front
followed his casket out of the church after the service.
“We should all grow up like him,” said Wiegand. “He was a brave little boy.”

In the midst of the four days of alleged torture that killed her son,
Dominick Calhoun’s mother walked out of the house and left the trouble
there behind, according to court records.
Her parents picked Dominick’s mother up for a doctor’s
appointment that Friday — April 9, the day after police say the abuse of
4-year-old Dominick began.
She went and returned.
And, never notified anyone of the alleged abuse going on behind
closed doors, according to a petition filed by the Department of Human Services.
The 25-year-old woman has not been charged with a crime in
Dominick’s death, though officials this week said the investigation is ongoing.
Police say Brandon J.F. Hayes, 24, beat Dominick about the head,
kicked him the groin and poked him in the eyes repeatedly for days
after the boy wet himself in the morning on April 8 and soiled the
couch. He was charged with eight felonies Thursday including torture,
first-degree child abuse and first-degree premeditated murder.
The mother “did not report that anything was wrong between
herself, children or (her boyfriend),” the petition said.
Dominick was found unconscious April 11 in his Argentine
Township apartment and was removed from life support the next day after
he was declared brain dead.
Dominick’s older half-brother was removed from their mother’s care when
Dominick was discovered. The brother was not injured during the beatings
and has been placed in protective care.
The state filed paperwork the same day to terminate the mother’s
parental rights for her older son.
Court documents also indicate that Dominick suffered burns to
the genitals and showed signs he was sexually assaulted. Argentine
Township police Chief Dan Allen said it originally appeared that
Dominick had been sexually assaulted, but the investigation showed he had not.
“Thank God, really,” said Allen. “He went through enough.”
Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said the criminal
investigation is ongoing as it relates to the allegations of sexual
abuse and the mother failing to protect Dominick.
“I have to have legitimate probable cause before I issue charges
against anybody,” said Leyton.
The mother was ordered not to contact her other son or attend
Dominick’s funeral, according to court documents.
Teresa Holifield, a lawyer from the Child Advocacy Team
appointed to represent Dominick’s brother in the trial, said information
is still being gathered into what occurred during the alleged beatings,
and declined to comment further about the case.
A pre-trial date is scheduled for May and the mother requested a court-appointed
attorney. One was not on file Friday morning.
Candy Mattson, director of the domestic violence and sexual
assault program at the YWCA in Flint, declined to speak specifically on
this case but said victims of domestic violence could be threatened
before they leave home, preventing them from speaking out.
“They think nobody can help them,” she said. “(Perpetrators)
become larger than life to them and they don’t think they can get away alive.”
She urged victims of domestic violence to call the YWCA crisis line at (810) 238-SAFE (7233).

There is a post by the person who started Dominick's Facebook page, alluding to Brandon J.F. Hayes claiming insanity? I'll try to get more info on it...

Authorities filed a second-degree murder charge Friday against the
mother of a 4-year-old Genesee County boy who was beaten for days after
he wet his pants.
Corrine Baker was accused of willfully disregarding the condition of
her son, Dominick Calhoun, who died April 12, a day after relatives
found him on the floor of an apartment in Argentine Township, south of Flint.
Baker's boyfriend, Brandon Hayes, 24, was charged last
week with torture and first-degree murder. Authorities allege he
repeatedly attacked the boy after he urinated on himself while sitting
on a couch on April 8.
Baker, 25, has claimed in media interviews that she was in the apartment when her son was beaten, but
Hayes wouldn't let her leave to get help.
But John Potbury, a spokesman for county Prosecutor David Leyton, said Baker left the
apartment with Dominick at least once before his death but didn't seek
medical help because she feared being arrested for a probation violation.
Leyton said the murder and child abuse charges
reflect an "unforgivable betrayal of a parent's most basic responsibility."
Baker could not be reached for comment. She
was placed in the Livingston County jail this week for a probation
violation in an unrelated case. She will appear in court in Flint on Monday.
Hayes, meanwhile, is seeking a psychiatric exam to
determine if he's competent to stand trial. His next court hearing is April 27.

Good! I'm sorry, but it is about time to start holding these moms responsible. Maybe it will make some think twice....

From Dominick's FB site:


Justice for Dominick Calhoun!

Know This: Contrary to what the news says, the case is NOT shut. There IS room for more charges, my source states that in the state computers it says the case is open. I think we know exactly what they are waiting for, and I believe whole-heartedly Corrine WILL be facing at LEAST 1 more charge! Just wanted you o be pro...perly informed. That is why they went ahead and charged her yesterday but left the case open.

Admin wrote:From Dominick's FB site:


Justice for Dominick Calhoun!

Know This: Contrary to what the news says, the case is NOT shut. There IS room for more charges, my source states that in the state computers it says the case is open. I think we know exactly what they are waiting for, and I believe whole-heartedly Corrine WILL be facing at LEAST 1 more charge! Just wanted you o be pro...perly informed. That is why they went ahead and charged her yesterday but left the case open.

After reading a few of these, Im sickened by all of it. I believe that the moms should be punished to the full extent of the law. children look up to their parents for guidance and love and obviously these parents are not there for their children. But they are there to put them in danger with these looser boyfriends. These boyfriends are COWARDS in my eyes, because they know that a CHILD will NOT FIGHT BACK....If they beat up an ADULT, the ADULT would FIGHT BACK, so they take out all their anger and frustration on the most VULNURABLE...THE CHILDREN.....ALL THESE COWARDS NEED TO BE TORTURED AND BEATEN....AN EYE FOR AN EYE.....

Admin wrote:Good! I'm sorry, but it is about time to start holding these moms responsible. Maybe it will make some think twice....

I couldn't agree more!

It is so sad and I am sorry for your loss.. Seems this horrible event happens way to often.. We just recently lost My Great Niece Addsion to child abuse as well, again, I am so sorry.

K. Mein

i am sickened! child beaters do not do well in prision. what goes around comes around. the mother should be in for the rest of her life also, she is completely responsible as well.

livin'inthenorth wrote:i am sickened! child beaters do not do well in prision. what goes around comes around. the mother should be in for the rest of her life also, she is completely responsible as well.

I so agree, welcome to our forum, please feel free to join us anytime on the Main Blog anytime...it is slow on weekends but people will be popping in and out. Go to Home, click on The Main Blog for that days date, glad you are here Livin'inthenorth

Support for “Dominick’s Law” has exploded on the Internet and has
made its way to the state legislature.
 After the beating death
of 4-year-old Dominick Calhoun, outrage surfaced as people wondered how
and why a defenseless little boy could have been beaten to death in his
own home.
 Through the website, Facebook, support for Dominick’s
Law has grown quickly. The proposed bill, if signed into law, would
create harsher consequences for anyone committing child abuse in
Michigan. It would also expand mandatory reporting of child abuse to
include all people 18 years of age or older.
 Dominick’s father,
Eric Calhoun, grandfather Rick Calhoun and supporters of the bill
visited State Rep. Paul Scott’s office Wednesday. Scott’s district
includes the Linden and Argentine area.
On Thursday, Scott expressed his opinion on the proposed
Dominick’s Law. He said, “The death of Dominick Calhoun is an
unimaginable tragedy that has touched the hearts of hundreds upon
hundreds of people in my district, as well as across the state and
country.
 “My office, along with Rep. Matt Lori’s (R-Constantine)
office, is working with the family on blending their ideas with
legislation that was already being created. At this point, those bills
are currently being drafted.”
 While Hayes has been charged with
first-degree murder, which comes with a sentence of life without the
possibility of parole upon conviction, Scott said, “I feel it’s
important to draft a bill that forces the system to abide by the law. It
is more important that this bill be done correctly, rather than
quickly.”
Scott said, at this point, sponsors are in the process
of drafting the bills, which is just the first step in the legislative
process. There is still a long way to go before it becomes a law. He
believes legislators need to take their time to ensure the bill is done
right.
When asked if he was surprised by the outpouring of
support for this cause, Scott said, “I am not surprised by the support
it has attracted, given the immense tragedy surrounding Dominick’s death
as well as its publicity.
“We have received hundreds of e-mails
and dozens of phone calls in our office regarding this tragedy, and we
plan to work directly with the Calhoun family to help in any way we
can.”
Rick Calhoun, of Linden, said their meeting with Scott’s
staff made for an “awesome day.” “They are so behind this (Dominick’s
Law), but they want to make sure we do the right thing and that it’s
strong.”
“I’m sure Dominick was pretty proud of us.
“We’re going forward with this, and they’re behind us 100 percent.”
Calhoun said before he went to the apartment Dominick was living in on
April 11, the last time he saw his grandson was the day before Dominick
left Eric’s home after a few month’s of living there and moved into the
apartment with his mother, her boyfriend and his half-brother, Tyler.
 
Calhoun said his son Eric never had custody of Dominick but would take
him in anytime, sometimes for months, when his mother would drop him
off. Though Tyler was not his own son, Eric would also take Tyler in and
treated him like a son, too. “My son was in my grandson’s life every
day of his life. This just breaks my heart,” he said.
 Problems
arose about two years ago for Baker, according to Calhoun. “She met the
wrong people.” He said she completely changed from the person he knew
her as when she first met his son, Eric.
 When asked if he was
going to try to get custody of Dominick’s brother, Tyler, Calhoun said
he wants Baker’s parents to have him. “It would be an injustice if they
don’t get him. They’re great grandparents, and they’re good people,” he
said.
 Overwhelmed with heartbreaking emotion, Calhoun said
little Dominick was so outgoing. “He’d tell you how it was.
“He
was such a little man.
 “He’d dance and sing. He was so full of
life.
 “I hope we can do something really good for him,” said
Calhoun.

I'm so happy there is a move towards mandatory reporting as we have here in NZ. I hope they get properly prepared and strengthen the numbers of social workers at the same time though because reports of abuse went up tremendously when it was introduced here several years ago. The law helps extended family members and friends make up their mind to take the step. It also means neighbours are less inclined to turn the other cheek for fear of prosecution.

I have not been able to sleep and have been sick to my stomache since i read about this! I have a question, this boy was beaten, and i am sure had visible injuries and was in pain due to these injuries, surely to heaven someone saw him, why wasnt anything done to help? I just cant stop crying!

Welcome mommyofffour. It sounds like the abuse went on over a period of about 4 days and probably only his mother knew what was going on behind closed doors. As soon as his grandfather found out he contacted the police but it was too late by then. I would have thought that neighbours would have heard things and they probably did but did not make any attempt to check it out. It's great that Dominick's extended family are trying to gain support for a law requiring mandatory reporting of child abuse, but that is still just ensuring the ambulance is at the bottom of the cliff. In this case the mother got pregnant at 16 and again at 20 to a different guy and was living with another guy who was not the father of either children. This is the common circumstance of the majority of child murders and abuse yet the media don't seem to be interested in exploring this problem but until we stop these irresponsible teens from having babies in the first place it will only get worse.

kiwimom wrote:Welcome mommyofffour. It sounds like the abuse went on over a period of about 4 days and probably only his mother knew what was going on behind closed doors. As soon as his grandfather found out he contacted the police but it was too late by then. I would have thought that neighbours would have heard things and they probably did but did not make any attempt to check it out. It's great that Dominick's extended family are trying to gain support for a law requiring mandatory reporting of child abuse, but that is still just ensuring the ambulance is at the bottom of the cliff. In this case the mother got pregnant at 16 and again at 20 to a different guy and was living with another guy who was not the father of either children. This is the common circumstance of the majority of child murders and abuse yet the media don't seem to be interested in exploring this problem but until we stop these irresponsible teens from having babies in the first place it will only get worse.

Bravo! Very well stated!

From a mother of 3 children ages 7,5 and 2 . That poor little boy.
I can't even begine to emagine what he went though. It breakes my heart to even think, of someone doing that to a child. i agree charge the neighbors in the apartment as well. They had to here Dominick. I break down crying to think of what he must have went through.

Juniper
Boyfriend and mother well we all know where they are going....The man upstairs sees all.

A former Livingston County man accused of beating 4-year-old Dominick
Calhoun to death has been found competent to stand trial. 24-year-old
Brandon Hayes is charged with eight felonies including first-degree
murder, torture and child abuse. At a court hearing yesterday in Genesee
County, prosecutors argued Hayes was competent to stand trial because
he gave a statement to police about the boy’s death. However, his
defense attorney countered that he was not despite the findings of a
state report. He alleges Hayes cannot remember events surrounding the
boy’s death and suffers from paranoid delusions. Police say he tortured
and beat his girlfriend's son over a several day period inside an
Argentine Township apartment in April. Testimony was also heard from a
pediatric physician who treated Dominick and said his injuries were so
severe that staff needed to seek counseling after treating the boy.
Dominick’s 8-year-old brother is expected to testify when the hearing
continues on June 28th. Meanwhile, Dominick's mother, 25-year-old
Corrine Baker, is also charged in the case. A hearing has been adjourned
until next month while authorities await a report to determine whether
she’s competent to stand trial.

A former Tyrone Township resident was found competent Tuesday to stand
trial on second-degree murder charges in connection to the beating death
of her 4-year-old son.
Judge John Conover in 67th District Court in Flint accepted the
psychologist's report from the Center for Forensic Psychiatry that said
Corrine Baker is competent for trial, which means she can assist her
attorney with her defense.Defense attorney Erwin Meiers III said the finding
does not mean that Baker, who also is charged with second-degree child
abuse, could defend her son, Dominick Calhoun, from her boyfriend,
Brandon Joshua-Frederick Hayes, who is accused of murdering the child in
April."I think
the battered-woman syndrome is certainly an option for us to explore —
and whether the knowledge that she had during the conduct of Mr. Hayes
during the time frame that Dominick was in the apartment certainly is an
issue; but we have to explore all the documents," Meiers said. "There
is a substantial amount of reports to review and as to time, place and
facts, certainly are very important to put together."Neither Meiers nor Assistant Prosecutor Tammy
Phillips would elaborate on the contents of the psychologist's report.Baker returns to
District Court on July 19 for a preliminary exam, at which time Conover
will decide whether to send the case to Circuit Court for trial.Phillips said she would
not ask Baker's 8-year-old son, Tyler Baker, to testify, and Meiers
would not say whether he would call the boy to the stand.On Monday, Tyler,
testified at Hayes' preliminary hearing that his mother tried to help
Dominick, but Hayes also abused the woman."She was pushing Brandon away so my brother would not
get hurt," Tyler testified.Meiers said Corrine Baker is feeling stress about the
situation, including her inability to speak with and see Tyler."As a caring mother,
she at all times and all places tried her best, through the conduct of
Brandon, to protect both children," he said.Police said at one point during the four-day assault
against Dominick that Corrine Baker did try to protect her son by
wrapping herself around him, but her action was "too little, too late."
Police said Corrine Baker left the couple's Argentine Township apartment
at least twice during the weekend Dominick was brutally beaten to death
and not once notified authorities, family or friends that there was
trouble at the apartment.
Tyler Baker's testimony also suggested that his mother did not always
help Dominick. At one point, the 8-year-old boy testified how Hayes
burned the boy's hand by holding it under hot water and that when his
mother returned to the apartment, she did not take Dominick for care."I said, 'Lets take
Dominick to the doctor,' and she said, 'We can't, the doctor's closed.' I
think this was on Friday," Tyler testified, noting that he thought it
was nighttime. He said the next day, his brother's body was shaking and
he was in pain.Hayes'
father, Arnold Hayes, also testified Monday that he saw Dominick's
burned hand when he took his son, Corrine Baker and the boys to two
stores April 9.Assistant
Prosecutor Marcie Mabry asked Arnold Hayes if he believed the burn
required medical attention."I'm sure it had to hurt, and I suggested we take him
to emergency," he said, noting that he made the suggestion to Corrine
Baker. "Her reaction was, 'I can't do that because they may think I done
it.' "Arnold
Hayes testified that he was told Dominick burned his hand when "other
boys in the area ... poked this hot stick at him" and he grabbed it, but
he said he did not see if Dominick's palm was burned from grabbing it.Meanwhile, Corrine
Baker also faces an allegation she violated probation on a Livingston
County conviction by living with a known felon. That hearing has been
tentatively set July 22 in Livingston County Circuit Court.

A caring mother would be very very careful who she brought into her childrens lives. This poor excuse for a mother did not care about the risk to the childen and the public needs to let mothers know that we demand a better standard of parenting and shacking up with known criminals or violent men is unacceptable. We will hold you responsible for your choices and demand life without parole.

The mother of a 4-year-old Argentine Township boy beaten to death will
stand trial in the case. The preliminary hearing for 25 year old Corrine
Baker was held today in 67th District Court in Genesee County. She’s
facing 2nd degree murder and child abuse charges in the death of her son
Dominick Calhoun. An uncle of Brandon Hayes, the man accused of killing
Dominick, testified in court today that he went to the home to buy
marijuana and saw the child’s badly burned hand days before his death.
However, he said Baker didn’t want to seek medical attention because she
was afraid that child services would be called or she would be arrested
on outstanding warrants. Other testimony came from the doctor who
performed Dominick's autopsy, Baker’s sister and a group of friends who
also visited the home to reportedly purchase drugs. At the end of the
day, Judge John Conover said there was overwhelming evidence to support
the charge that Baker's lack of action to protect her son contributed to
his death. A new circuit court date has not yet been set.

A former Tyrone Township woman will stand trial on charges in
connection to the savage beating death of her 4-year-old son, Dominick
Calhoun, a judge ruled Monday.After emotional testimony from a police detective and
the medical examiner, as well as admissions from witnesses who said they
failed to act, Judge John Conover of the 67th District Court in Flint
ordered Corrine Baker to stand trial on charges of second-degree murder
and second-degree child abuse in connection to her son’s beating death.

“If
you can’t depend on your mother, I don’t know who you can depend on,”
Conover said. “This was a slow, lingering torturous death over a period
of days.”Police allege Corrine Baker, 25, did not do
enough to defend her son from her boyfriend, Brandon Joshua-Frederick
Hayes, who is accused of murdering the child. They allege
he began beating the boy April 9 after he wet himself in the morning and
the assault did not stop until April 11, when Corrine Baker’s
16-year-old sister came to the apartment, saw the boy’s condition and
called the child’s paternal grandfather, who called police.Argentine
Township Police Department Detective Angelos Paneos, who responded to
the grandfather’s call for help, testified that he found a “young boy
lying on his back” in a bedroom with a woman, later identified as
Corrine Baker, sitting next to him.Paneos said Corrine
Baker “was not hysterical” and that she spoke to him in a monotone
voice.“She was consoling him, comforting the boy,” Paneos
said. “… She was petting him, rubbing him. She wasn’t hysterical. She
was just sitting there.”At one point, Paneos asked Corrine
Baker what happened, and she replied, “Brandon has beat us.” He told
her that the injuries could not have happened in one day. He said the
injuries on the boy’s hands and fingers had “crusted over.” She kept
repeating that “Brandon did this.”Paneos said she pulled the boy’s pants down and told the detective to
look. The boy’s genitals were beaten so badly it shocked the police and
physicians who saw it, including Paneos, who said the boy’s condition
was “devastatingly shocking.”“I said, ‘What the
(expletive) kind of animals are you?’ I said, ‘Look at this boy. He’s
crucified,’ ” Paneos testified as he wiped tears from his cheeks. Paneos
apologized to the court as he left the stand for his unprofessional
behavior toward Corrine Baker that day.Other testimony
showed that no one — not Corrine Baker, not Brandon Hayes, nor their
friends, family and acquaintances — who knew or suspected something was
wrong did anything to help Dominick.Corrine Baker’s
mother, Julie Baker, testified that Corrine Baker seemed “happy” when
she and her husband picked up their daughter at about 9 a.m. April 9 to
take her to a doctor’s appointment, but she did not go into the
apartment and did not see Dominick. She said they dropped off Corrine
Baker at 3:30 p.m. Corrine Baker’s other son, Tyler Baker,
8, testified at an earlier hearing for Brandon Hayes that his mother
was at the doctor’s appointment when Hayes stuck Dominick’s hand under
the “hottest water” in the house and burned the boy.On
cross-examination, Julie Baker admitted that she was aware of her
daughter’s troubled past, including her addiction to drugs, which led to
a long-term program of substance-abuse treatment at the age of 13.Brandon
Hayes’ father, Arnold Hayes, testified that he saw Dominick’s burned
hand when he took his son, Corrine Baker and the boys to the Dollar
General store and Walmart on April 11, and while he encouraged the woman
to seek treatment for her son, he also admitted that he did nothing
more to help the boy.“No, I did not take any affirmative
action,” Arnold Hayes admitted on cross-examination.At
9:30 p.m. April 11, Arnold Hayes called Julie Baker and told her about
Dominick’s burned hand. Julie Baker said she was half asleep and she
decided to call her daughter the next day. She said she left messages
encouraging Corrine Baker to seek help for her son, but she, too,
admitted that she did not seek treatment for her grandson.
Brandon DeLong and Michael DeLong, brothers and neighbors who live
within 50 yards to 100 yards of Brandon Hayes and Corrine Baker’s
apartment in Argentine Township, both said they saw Brandon Hayes
walking toward a local gas station April 10. They both said Corrine
Baker knew them from when she dated Dominick’s father, who is their
stepbrother, but the woman did not approach either man about trouble at
the apartment.Neither of the brothers saw Dominick that
weekend.Corrine Baker’s sister, Christine Baker, testified
that she went to her sister’s apartment April 11 with three friends,
two of whom wanted to buy marijuana from Brandon Hayes. The
16-year-old girl said she was told not to disturb Dominick because he
was sleeping, but when she looked in on him at Brandon Hayes’
suggestion, she saw Dominick’s battered face. “Did Corrine
ask you for help?” Assistant Prosecutor Tammy Phillips asked.
“No,”
Christine Baker replied.On cross-examination, defense
attorney Erwin Meiers III asked Christine Baker if she called police and
she said no. When asked why, she replied, “I don’t know.”
Instead,
the girl called Dominick’s paternal grandfather, Rick Calhoun, who did
not testify Monday. Taylor Hodge and Cassandra Miller, two
of the three teens accompanying Christine Baker to the apartment, both
testified that they saw bruises on Corrine Baker’s face, but the woman
not once sought their help for herself or her son.When
asked why she didn’t call police, Hodge replied: “Corrine told me not
to.”Neighbor Buddy Everad said he heard verbal abuse the
weekend of April 9 coming from the Brandon Hayes-Corrine Baker apartment
and banging noises. He thought the couple, who had recently moved in,
was hanging pictures. He said he also heard the “little boy” cry out,
“Mommy, stop him.”Brandon Hayes’ uncle, Rodney Keen, also
testified that he saw the burns on Dominick’s hand and the boy told him
it didn’t hurt. He said even though the boy’s hand was “as big as mine,”
he gave his nephew and Corrine Baker “the benefit of the doubt.”“I said the baby needs medical attention, both said they couldn’t do
it because they had warrants and didn’t want (Child Protective Services)
to get involved,” Keen said, later noting, “It hurt me to see how his
hand was burned.”When he was asked if he helped Dominick,
he replied: “I did not do anything, correct.”Police were
summoned to the apartment when Rick Calhoun went to the apartment after
receiving a call from Christine Baker. By then it was too late to help
Dominick, whose brain was so swollen that doctors had to remove part of
the skull to try to alleviate pressure.Dr. Brian Hunter,
Genesee County medical examiner, testified that Dominick was beaten from
head to toe and that his teeth had been broken, which caused blood to
get into his intestines. He said the boy also had thermal burns on his
body with the most severe burns — described as “blackened and charred” —
on his left hand.After the daylong testimony, Phillips
asked the judge to bind the case over to Circuit Court.She
told Conover that Corrine Baker chose on multiple occasions not to seek
help for her son, even when Brandon Hayes left her alone in the
apartment with the boy.“She was free of the watchful eyes
of Mr. (Brandon) Hayes and could have asked for help,” Phillips said.
“That alone is so singularly telling in this weekend of terror that
Dominick must have experienced. … Clearly, it is reckless to refuse to
notify authorities out of mere self-interest.”Meiers,
Corrine Baker’s attorney, said in order to bind the case over, his
client’s conduct and manner of act had to be so egregious that the
direct result is death. He said that blame was not his client’s but
rather belonged to Christine Baker, Miller, Hodge, Keen and the others
who saw Dominick’s injuries but did not call police or seek help for the
boy.“Each and every one of them seemed to have at least a
civic duty to do something and did they or did they not,” he said. “Ms.
(Corrine) Baker was under a certain spell or a certain force that
Brandon Hayes was able to have over her; that she was unable to perform
or act or react in any specific way that would have allowed her to
contact the police or any other agency.”The judge, Conover, agreed, laying blame also on Livingston County
authorities whom he said failed to be aware that Corrine Baker was
living with a felon out of her probation district.Conover
also blamed Judge Carol Hackett Garagiola, who denied Julie Baker’s and
her husband’s request to get custody of Dominick and his older half
brother in October 2008 due to their daughter’s drug use.“A
series of bad decisions caused this little boy to slip through the
cracks,” Conover said. “There is overwhelming evidence this defendant …
failed to act.”Meanwhile, Brandon Hayes was arraigned
Monday in Genesee County Circuit Court on seven felony charges,
including murder, torture and child abuse, in connection to Dominick’s
death. He faces three drug-related charges for allegedly selling
marijuana.Corrine Baker and her two sons had lived in the
Tyrone Woods manufactured-home community in Tyrone Township until about
two weeks to three weeks before Dominick’s murder.