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

Testimony in the murder trial of Brandon Hayes, who is accused of beating a 4-year-old child, concluded this morning in Flint with neighbors taking the stand.

Closing arguments were initially set for Wednesday, but have been moved to Thursday in Port Huron.

The jury is comprised of Saint Clair County residents after Judge Richard Yuille determined a jury could not be selected in Genesee County due to pretrial publicity. The judge estimated jury deliberations could begin by noon Thursday.

Dominick’s paternal aunt, Melanie Calhoun, said the family is confident the jury will deliver a guilty verdict.

“I’d say open and shut,” she said following testimony. “It was very, very clear who did what to whom and what the result was. I don’t think the jury is going to have any problem seeing the truth. It’s just a matter of bringing justice.”

Hayes, who moved from Tyrone Township to Argentine Township a couple weeks before the murder, is charged with first-degree murder, torture and child abuse in connection with the beating death of his live-in girlfriend’s son, Dominick Calhoun.

Testimony indicates the beating occurred the weekend of April 8, 2010, after Dominick wet himself while eating breakfast on the couch in the family’s Argentine Township apartment.

Testimony today came from a downstairs neighbor who heard Dominick’s screams for help and Dr. Brian Nolan, a child abuse expert, who reiterated previous witnesses’ testimony that Dominick had “multiple bruises” on his body.

Nolan also testified that the injuries to Dominick’s groin were “direct” hits as opposed to unintentional hits that might have occurred had someone been making “random” punches.

Once the prosecutor rested the state’s case, defense attorney James Piazza could have made an opening argument, but he declined.

Piazza called three witnesses to the stand — Dominick’s maternal grandmother Julie Baker; and brothers Michael DeLong and Brandon DeLong, who are related to Dominick’s father.

Baker testified that she tried to reach her daughter, Corrine Baker, on Saturday, April 10, 2010, after learning from Hayes’ father that her grandson’s left hand was burned. She said Corrine Baker, who is Dominick’s mother, eventually told her that she would call the hospital to make an appointment for Dominick, but she did not hear from her daughter again that weekend.

The DeLong brothers both testified that they lived within 100 yards of Corrine Baker’s Argentine Township apartment and that they each saw Hayes leave and/or return to the apartment that fatal weekend.

Corrine Baker, who pleaded guilty to second degree murder last summer for not doing to help her son, testified Wednesday that Hayes beat her as she tried to shield her son from Hayes’ brutal assault. She was repeatedly questioned on the stand why she failed to get help for Dominick when given the opportunity that weekend. She replied she didn’t know why she failed her son.

Corrine Baker faces 13-30 years in prison when she is sentenced.

Medical experts testified that Dominick was battered from his “head to the soles of his feet.” His brain was so traumatized that it “spilled outside” his skull when doctor’s opened the boy’s skull to alleviate pressure in his swollen brain, a clinical nurse practitioner from Hurley Medical Center testified.

http://www.livingstondaily.com/article/20120117/NEWS01/120117005/Brandon-Hayes-murder-trial-beating-4-year-old-resumes-today?odyssey=nav%7Chead

Closing arguments set for today in Brandon Hayes murder trial
Jan. 19, 2012

The jury is expected to begin deliberating the fate of a former Livingston County man accused of brutally beating a 4-year-old boy to death.

Closing arguments in the murder trial of Brandon Joshua-Frederick Hayes are set to begin at 9 a.m. today in a Port Huron courtroom. The jury begins deliberations after a judge's instructions following those arguments.

The family of 4-year-old Dominick Calhoun is confident the jury will give them "sweet justice" by convicting Hayes of murder, torture, child abuse and other charges in connection with Dominick's murder.

Testimony throughout the six-day trial indicated the beating occurred the weekend of April 8, 2010, after Dominick wet himself while eating breakfast on the couch in the family's Argentine Township apartment.

Hayes also is accused of assaulting Calhoun's then-7-year-old brother and the boy's mother, Corrine Baker, who testified that Hayes beat and kicked her as she wrapped herself around Dominick's body to try to shield him from the blows.

Witnesses also testified that Baker did not seek help for her son when given the chance.

The defense painted Baker as a woman who failed to get help when she could because she was responsible for beating her son and did not want to get into trouble.

Baker pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in August for not doing enough to help her son. She faces 13-30 years in prison when she is sentenced.


http://www.livingstondaily.com/article/20120119/NEWS01/201190315/Closing-arguments-set-today-Brandon-Hayes-murder-trial

Hayes guilty of murder, jury says (with court document)


1:14 PM, Jan. 19, 2012

Dominick Calhoun’s grandfather, Rick Calhoun, buries his face in his hands as he and other family members react as the jury’s guilty verdict against Brandon Joshua-Frederick Hayes is read in a Port Huron courtroom. Hayes was convicted of first-degree murder, child abuse and torture for the April 2010 death of Dominick, 4. / Photo courtesy of ABC Channel 12 in Flint

Editor’s note: The following story contains graphic descriptions of injuries resulting from child abuse that may be upsetting to some readers. Reader discretion is advised.

A jury convicted former Tyrone Township resident Brandon Joshua-Frederick Hayes of killing his former girlfriend’s 4-year-old son. Sentencing is Feb. 27 in Genesee County.

Dominick died April 12, 2010, surrounded by family, who chose to end life support when a doctor told them “there is no hope” for the boy’s survival.

“We’re gratified by the jury’s decision and feel it is justice for Dominick,” said Prosecutor David Leyton after the verdict was read. “We hope this will bring some closure for Dominick’s family."


Hayes, 26, faces life in prison while Dominick’s mother, Corrine Baker, faces 13-30 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder and child abuse for not doing more to help her son.


In closing arguments Thursday, Assistant Prosecutor Tammy Phillips said Dominick was turned into a “literal punching bag” by Hayes, who beat the boy after he urinated on himself while eating breakfast on the family’s couch.


“These are repeated blunt force injuries over days,” Phillips said, emphasizing Dominick suffered “kick after kick.”


Hayes’ attorney, James Piazza, told the jurors to open their minds because the medical evidence and testimony could not tell them who caused Dominick’s injuries. He placed blame on Dominick’s mother, whom he said did not go to police or take him to the hospital because it was her beating the child.


“The issue is not what, but who,” he said.


Piazza added: “All of these opportunities to get help that she denies, turns down or ignores ... because she killed her own kid.”


Many in the courtroom were in tears as photographs of Dominick’s battered torso and face were shown during closing arguments, which were heard in a Saint Clair County courtroom.

One doctor testified that he stopped counting Dominick’s injuries when he reached 100.


Medical experts and police testified that Dominick was battered and bruised from his head to his toes. There were bruises and thermal injuries on Dominick’s face, head and hand.


The bruising and thermal injuries in the groin area was “a solid sheet of purple” that one doctor said stretched from the boy’s belly button to his magic stick and scrotum and wrapped 10 inches around his abdomen.


Another doctor described that bruising pattern as resembling someone wearing a “swim suit.”


Baker testified that Hayes also beat and kicked her as she wrapped herself around Dominick in an attempt to shield him from the blows. Hayes was convicted of assault to commit great bodily harm less than murder for the assault on Baker.


However, witnesses and Baker herself also testified that Baker did not seek help for her son when she could have.


The jury also convicted Hayes of delivery of marijuana and possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.


The case was heard by a Saint Clair County jury after Judge Richard Yuille ruled a jury could not be selected in Genesee County due to pretrial publicity. Testimony was taken in Genesee County while opening and closing arguments as well as the verdict were heard in Port Huron.

http://www.livingstondaily.com/article/20120119/NEWS01/120119010/Jury-deliberations-begin-in-Brandon-Hayes-murder-case-Dominick-Calhoun

Thank God this monster was found guilty! Now I hope he gets life without parole. The judge should order a picture of sweet Dominick placed in his cell so he has to look at the little boy he tortured and murdered. He needs to realize every day what he did.

FLINT, Michigan — The mother of a 4-year-old boy beaten to death will be
sentenced the same day as the man convicted of killing the boy.




Both Corrine Baker and her then-boyfriend Brandon Hayes will be sentenced in
front of Judge Richard Yuille on Feb. 27, according to court records.

Baker faces 13 to 30 years in prison for not doing enough to stop the
beatings of her son Dominick Calhoun in April 2010 at an Argentine
Township apartment. She pleaded guilty last year to second degree murder.

Hayes, 28, was convicted by a jury last week in the beating death that lasted four days.

While the Hayes verdict took place in St. Clair County, sentencing is expected to take place in Genesee County.

http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2012/01/dominick_calhouns_mother_to_be.html

A former Livingston County couple will be sentenced Monday for the murder of a 4-year-old boy.
Brandon
Joshua-Frederick Hayes, 26, is expected to be sentenced to life in
prison without parole for after a jury convicted him of murder, torture
and child abuse in the death of 4-year-old Dominick Calhoun, who died
April 12, 2010, after life supported was stopped.
Dominick's
mother, Corrine Baker, reached a plea deal with prosecutors in which she
pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in exchange for prosecutors
recommending a 13-year to 30-year prison sentence.
Sentencing will occur in Genesee County Circuit Judge Richard Yuille's courtroom.
During
closing statements, Assistant Prosecutor Tammy Phillips said Hayes
turned Dominick into a "literal punching bag" in the days leading up to
his death. Authorities said Hayes beat the boy at the apartment Baker
and Hayes shared in Genesee County's Argentine Township.
A doctor
testified that he stopped counting Dominick's injuries when he reached
100. There were bruises and thermal injuries on Dominick's face, head,
hand and groin.
Hayes' defense attorney, James Piazza, told the
jurors during closing arguments in January to open their minds because
the medical evidence and testimony could not tell them who caused
Dominick's injuries. He placed blame on Dominick's mother, whom he said
did not go to police or take him to the hospital because it was her
beating the child.
"The issue is not what, but who," he said.
Piazza
added: "All of these opportunities to get help that she denies, turns
down or ignores ... because she killed her own kid."
Baker
testified that Hayes also beat and kicked her as she wrapped herself
around Dominick in an attempt to shield him from the blows. Hayes was
also convicted of assault to commit great bodily harm less than murder
for the assault on Baker.
Police said Baker did not do enough,
however, to protect her son as she failed to seek help when given
multiple opportunities to do so.
Hayes, Baker, Dominick and
Dominick's half brother had moved into the Argentine Township apartment
only weeks before the fatal beating occurred.
http://www.livingstondaily.com/article/20120226/NEWS06/202260307/Ex-Livingston-couple-sentenced-boy-s-murder?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Frontpage

Another POA boyfriend. Another POS mother. Another dead baby.

May they both be shown what a beating feels like (on a daily basis) when the arrive at their new home - prison.

How could a mother watch a man beat her baby for days and days and share his bed, never call 911, never protect her child?

These women seem to think as long as they are not doing the beating it is OK. I don't believe this woman's story about trying to protect her child. She is scum, just like her boyfriend.

Corrine Baker cried as she walked into a Genesee County Circuit
courtroom this afternoon to receive her sentence in connection with the
2010 murder of her son, 4-year-old Dominick Calhoun.“I will never forget Dominck,” she said. “Brandon Hayes took him away, but I will not let them take away the memories.”

Prosecutors today sentenced Baker to 13 to 30 years in prison after
reaching a plea deal with prosecutors in which she pleaded guilty to
second-degree murder in the death of of 4-year-old Calhoun, who died
April 12, 2010, after life supported was stopped.

“How you could allow Brandon Hayes to systematically murder Dominick is incomprehensible,” said Judge Richard Yuille to Baker.

Brandon Joshua-Frederick Hayes, 26, was sentenced to life in prison
without parole for after a jury convicted him of murder, torture and
child abuse in Calhoun’s death.
Hayes chose not to speak.

Sentencing occurred in Genesee County Circuit Yuille’s courtroom.

• MORE: Run planned to honor Dominick Calhoun
During
closing statements in January, Assistant Prosecutor Tammy Phillips said
Hayes turned Dominick into a “literal punching bag” in the days leading
up to his death. Authorities said Hayes beat the boy at the apartment
Baker and Hayes shared in Genesee County’s Argentine Township.
A
doctor testified that he stopped counting Dominick’s injuries when he
reached 100. There were bruises and thermal injuries on Dominick’s face,
head, hand and groin.
Hayes’ defense attorney, James
Piazza, told the jurors during closing arguments in January to open
their minds because the medical evidence and testimony could not tell
them who caused Dominick’s injuries. He placed blame on Dominick’s
mother, whom he said did not go to police or take him to the hospital
because it was her beating the child.
“The issue is not what, but who,” he said.
Piazza added: “All of these opportunities to get help that she denies, turns down or ignores … because she killed her own kid.”
Baker
testified that Hayes also beat and kicked her as she wrapped herself
around Dominick in an attempt to shield him from the blows. Hayes was
also convicted of assault to commit great bodily harm less than murder
for the assault on Baker.
Police said Baker did not do
enough, however, to protect her son as she failed to seek help when
given multiple opportunities to do so.
Hayes, Baker,
Dominick and Dominick’s half brother had moved into the Argentine
Township apartment only weeks before the fatal beating occurred.
http://www.livingstondaily.com/article/20120227/NEWS01/120227011/Hayes-gets-life-in-prison-for-2010-murder-of-4-year-old-Dominick-Calhoun

Snipped from article above:

"Prosecutors today sentenced Baker to 13 to 30 years in prison after reaching a plea deal with prosecutors in which she pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of of 4-year-old Calhoun, who died April 12, 2010, after life supported was stopped."

Wouldn't it be the judge that sentenced the mother? And what will she actually get if it's 13 to 30 years? I hope she gets the full 30 years. She needs to be punished harshly as she could have saved her son's life but instead she let that monster boyfriend torture and beat him slowly to death. Thank God the monster got life in prison. I hope other inmates deal with him and bruise his body like he did to poor sweet Dominick. I'm so glad that justice has been served for Dominick.

babyjustice wrote:Snipped from article above:

"Prosecutors today sentenced Baker to 13 to 30 years in prison after reaching a plea deal with prosecutors in which she pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of of 4-year-old Calhoun, who died April 12, 2010, after life supported was stopped."

Wouldn't it be the judge that sentenced the mother? And what will she actually get if it's 13 to 30 years? I hope she gets the full 30 years. She needs to be punished harshly as she could have saved her son's life but instead she let that monster boyfriend torture and beat him slowly to death. Thank God the monster got life in prison. I hope other inmates deal with him and bruise his body like he did to poor sweet Dominick. I'm so glad that justice has been served for Dominick.

I think this is likely an error. Prosecutors can make the deal but only the judge can mete out the sentence. If the judge sentenced her, she will be eligible for parole after 85 per cent of 13 years is served but they can't keep her in prison longer than 30 years.

Prosecutors frequently make deals with defendants. Usually the judge goes along with it. Once in a while they don't. They don't have to. It the court room the judge is king. That goes back to old English law which our legal system is based on. The judges were on the bench in lieu of the king, as his representatives. Thus even today the courtroom is their small fiefdom and they rule.

Don't get me started on the judges who let this power go to their heads.

In Florida it is mandatory that no less than 85 per cent of a sentence be served.

I wish more of these mothers would be prosecuted. Most of them deserve it.

The family of Dominick Calhoun is rejoicing after the Michigan
House unanimously passed a bill on Thursday that stiffens penalties for
child abusers. It passed the House with a vote of 107-0. The bill will
now move to the Michigan Senate.
House bill 5562 and 5563, was named after Dominick Calhoun, was beaten to death in Argentine Township in 2010.

Brandon Hayes was found guilty in January of first-degree murder and
nine other counts in Calhoun's death, while Dominick's mother Corinne
Baker pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.

His grandfather says "Dominick's Law" will protect children from offenders and have a far reaching impact.
"I
don't want to forget him," said Rick Calhoun. "I don't ever want to
forget him, not that we ever could, but he's going to make a difference
you know, even though he is not here anymore."
The bill calls for stiffer penalties for child abuse and also punishes those who commit abuse in front of other kids.
http://www.minbcnews.com/news/story.aspx?id=755379#.T7Y3pVLuCSo

Legislation named after a slain Argentine Township boy stiffening child
abuse penalties in the state has become law. "Dominick's Law” was named
in memory of 4-year-old Dominick Calhoun who was beaten to death at his
home in Argentine Township in 2010. The legislation was approved
unanimously by the state House last month and passed the Senate today.
Dominick’s Grandfather Rick Calhoun told WHMI that today is a great day
to celebrate for Dominick and children in Michigan. While they still
miss him every day, Calhoun says they know Dominick is watching over
them and did not die in vain. Governor Rick Snyder is expected to sign
the bill in during an upcoming ceremony. Supporters say the promise made
to Dominick has now been fulfilled and his legacy will live on through
the new law. It strengthens the penalties for first and second degree
child abuse but also establishes penalties for committing child abuse in
the presence of other children. Dominick’s mother, Corrine Baker, is
serving 13 to 30 years for second degree child abuse and second degree
murder in his death. Baker’s live-in boyfriend, Brandon Hayes, is
serving life in prison for his 1st degree murder conviction in the case.

http://whmi.com/news/article/14628

Great news. Dominick went through horrendous torture and I hope this law helps other kids.

I hope the mom spends every day of 30 years in prison. Even if she got beat too, it's no excuse. She got to leave the house and had visitors. She could have gotten help and chose not to. She's as guilty of murder as her boyfriend.
I applaud Michigan for passing this law.

What a great day for abused and murdered children.

Some judges place no value on a child's life. This helps.