INA JANE McELHENY - 4 Months -(2010) Hoosick Falls (NE of Albany) NY

Melinda McElheny says defendant, husband Joseph McElheny 'anticipated Ina's needs'
Published: Thursday, October 06, 2011


Testimony ended Wednesday in the trial of Joseph McElheny, the Hoosick Falls man accused of murdering his 4-month-old daughter Ina in May 2010.

McElheny’s wife, Melinda, was the final witness, continuing her cross-examination under Assistant District Attorney Christa Book. Book asked Melinda McElheny to recount the day leading up to Ina’s death, and how the child appeared when McElheny returned home from work that night.

Ina was in her crib, McElheny said, and she believes she picked up the child only once, to feed her. She said she told State Police investigators that her husband advised her not to hold the baby because, he said, McElheny would “make her uncomfortable,” and that they should “let her sleep.”

Book also asked McElheny about comments she made to police regarding wishing she had held Ina that night, quoting McElheny as telling police, “I feel if I had taken her in my arms and held her, I would have known something was wrong.”

On redirect from Public Defender Greg Cholakis, McElheny said she and the defendant had numerous conversations about McElheny’s desire to hold Ina while she slept, with Joseph McElheny telling her that Ina did not sleep well when being held. Though Melinda McElheny said she often differed with her husband on that point, she agreed that night that letting the baby sleep uninterrupted was the best decision.

Book and McElheny disagreed many times about McElheny’s exact wording during her interview with police, with Book attempting to read back a transcript or play an audio recording of the interview to refresh McElheny’s memory, an action which was met each time with objections from defense attorney Greg Cholakis.

Book asked if McElheny told police something to the effect of, “I don’t know if Joe hurt Ina on purpose, I don’t know if he hurt her accidentally, but that’s something for scientists to figure out.” The garbled recording made her exact statement hard to determine, and McElheny denied saying those specific words, leading Judge Andrew Ceresia to preclude the tape from being used to impeach McElheny’s testimony on the subject.

McElheny and the defendant have a second child together, born after Ina died, who Book asked if the defendant had ever met, and McElheny said he had not. Book asked McElheny the baby’s age, and McElheny said the child would be turning 6 months old today.

“One and a half months older than Ina lived to?” Book asked.

“Yes, that’s correct,” McElheny replied.

During redirect, McElheny said her husband always put Ina’s needs first, and his “very particular parenting style” led him to “anticipate Ina’s needs before they arose so she wouldn’t have a need to cry.” That included timing her eating and sleeping patterns and having a bottle or naptime ready at those specific moments, and changing her before she soiled her diaper.

Her husband did this, she said, so the baby “didn’t need to feel discomfort or insecure,” a system she said “worked great.”

Asked by Cholakis if the defendant ever threatened her, yelled at her or raised his hand to her, McElheny said no.

When Book asked on cross if McElheny knew the District Attorney’s office had tried to contact her, she said she did, and declined to meet with them. Cholakis asked her why.

“My general impression is that they are not interested in the truth, they’re interested in finding things to bolster their case,” she said.

After showing several videos of Ina to the jury, the defense rested its case Wednesday afternoon. The defense will begin presenting its closing arguments this morning at 9 a.m., followed by the prosecution.


http://troyrecord.com/articles/2011/10/06/news/doc4e8d543636b66860819230.txt?viewmode=fullstory

UPDATE - Jury deliberates in trial of father charged with killing infant
ZEKE WRIGHT, Staff Writer
Posted: 10/06/2011 04:20:43 PM EDT

TROY, N.Y. - Jury deliberations began after closing arguments Thursday afternoon in the trial of Joseph McElheny. McElheny, 32, of Hoosick Falls, is accused of charges relating to the death of his 4-month-old child, Ina Jane McElheny, in May 2010. The trial has lasted three weeks, during which both McElheny and the infant's mother, Melinda Anders McElheny, took the stand along with a line of character and expert witnesses.

Prosecutors allege that those fractures indicate the child was abused at the hands of McElheny, Ina's primary caregiver, and that a sharp blow to the infant's abdomen in the hours leading up to her death caused a fracture which punctured her intestine.

Public Defender Greg Cholakis argued before the jury Thursday that the prosecution had not made their case beyond reasonable doubt, and he reiterated earlier claims by the defense that Ina's death was due to a hereditary intestinal condition, not child abuse.

The defense has claimed that Ina suffered from intussusception, a medical condition which can cause bowel obstructions and without treatment can lead to death. Cholakis linked the condition with rotavirus vaccinations Thursday. Cholakis attributed the infant's multiple fractures to congenital rickets, caused by a vitamin D deficiency. If Ina had the metabolic disorder, the defense argued, her soft bones could be fractured "with minimal trauma" including from birth, or through normal handling.

"This story of the day is not medically possible," said Assistant District Attorney Christa Book during closing arguments for the prosecution. "No one is saying Joseph McElheny didn't love Ina," she said. "No one is claiming he is a monster; unfortunately, that doesn't mean he didn't harm her." Book said that every new parent experienced frustration at some time, and she cited McElheny's "control issues," on the stand, at his River Street home, and as an employee at Staples.

Book described a "fatal blow, delivered sometime after Melinda left for work." She said that the defense's explanation was "not medically possible," and that McElheny had done nothing in the hours leading up to the infant's death to seek medical treatment.

Denying the prosecution's claim of rickets, Book said that the infant's calcium levels tested normal at the hospital and that there was "nothing to support intussusception."

She reviewed testimony by Dr. Jeffery Hubbard, the forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy, who concluded that the infant's bones were normal, "definitively rul(ing) out a metabolic syndrome such as rickets," said Book.

The infant was hospitalized in the early morning hours of May 12, 2010, after being found unresponsive. An autopsy determined that the cause of death was from a severe internal infection resulting from an intestinal tear. The death was ruled a homicide after the autopsy revealed upwards of 18 bone fractures, including both legs and numerous ribs.

http://www.benningtonbanner.com/ci_19055225

Jury in McElheny trial asks for read back of testimony during deliberations
Published: Friday, October 07, 2011


TROY — Deliberations lasted into the night Thursday as jurors received the case in the trial of Joseph McElheny, 32, the Hoosick Falls man accused of murdering his 4-month-old daughter Ina in May 2010.

Jurors asked to be read back testimony from doctors who testified for both the defense and the prosecution, specifically in relation to Ina’s torn bowel, which caused the abdominal infection which killed her, and intussusception, the intestinal condition the defense alleges led to the tear.

Thursday morning, the defense and the prosecution presented their closing arguments, with Public Defender Greg Cholakis and Assistant District Attorney Christa Book attempting to discredit the others’ witnesses through contradicting medical theories.

Cholakis continuously reminded the jury that it must return a not guilty verdict if it had any shred of reasonable doubt, noting that the prosecution “(hasn’t) even come close” to disproving McElheny’s innocence.

The defense’s medical witnesses confirmed that Ina’s 18 fractures at the time of her death were the result of rickets, Cholakis said, and would not have hurt her much because there would have been little trauma required to cause them. The lack of trauma is supported by what Cholakis called “uncontroverted” evidence that Ina was a happy, healthy-looking child whose parents routinely brought her out in public and published hundreds of photos and videos of her online.

Prosecution witnesses gave only approximations, Cholakis said, as to how Ina’s fractures could have occurred, using phrases such as “probably,” “most likely” and “usually” to draw their conclusions that the child was abused — conclusions, he said, which are opinions, not proof. Testimony from witness Carole Jenny drew the most ire from Cholakis, who said the doctor and child abuse expert came into the trial with a bias and answered questions untruthfully when they didn’t suit her agenda.

Cholakis said the medical examiner who performed Ina’s autopsy and the child’s own doctor missed her rickets and intussusception. Meanwhile, the child’s x-rays and medical history “screamed” her conditions to the defense’s witnesses, Cholakis said.

The case boiled down to believing common sense over coincidence, Cholakis said, and he told the jury that the latter was all the prosecution could offer.

“Nobody wants to convict an innocent man, and I’ll be damned if it’s gonna happen on my watch,” he said, his voice choking with emotion.

Book began her closing by invoking all the things Ina never got to accomplish in her “far too short of a life.” She never saw Christmas, her first birthday, or even spoke her first word.

“If she had, would it have been ‘Help’?” Book asked.

Ina would have been “no stranger to pain,” Book said, having been abused on at least four separate occasions during her life. The day before she died, Ina suffered from a perforated bowel while McElheny “sat there and watched his daughter die, and didn’t do anything about it,” Book said.

The defense’s claim that intussusception led to Ina’s perforation is impossible, Book said, not only because the condition wasn’t found in the autopsy, but because it does not manifest itself in that manner. The notion she was an otherwise healthy and happy child could be disputed by testimony that said pain from fractures would be acute for only one or two days, an easy amount of time to hide a child away, Book said.

Close to 1,500 photos of Ina were introduced as evidence, but Book said a photo represents only about a second of time, leaving more than 11 million seconds of Ina’s 135-day life unaccounted for.

Book said the prosecution doesn’t dispute McElheny loved his daughter, and doesn’t think of him as a monster, but as a man dealing with the frustration of being stuck at home alone most days and at the mercy of his now-wife, Melinda, the family’s main breadwinner.

“Things spun out of control,” Book said, and McElheny made up stories about accidents with the baby to conceal abuse, eventually covering up what led to her May 12 death despite his version of events not being medically possible.

The defense’s theory that Ina suffered from a host of medical conditions “should offend your common sense,” Book told jurors, and that it should find the defendant guilty to hold him accountable for his actions.

"It’s the only verdict that’s consistent with the testimony you heard, and it’s the only verdict consistent with the medical evidence that you saw," she said.

Deliberations will resume this morning at 9:00.

http://troyrecord.com/articles/2011/10/07/news/doc4e8e9ff5e5fcb173843929.txt?viewmode=fullstory

Jury says it's close, but no verdict for Joseph McElheny until next week
Published: Saturday, October 08, 2011

TROY — “Hurry up and wait” would be the best way to summarize the jury’s deliberations in the trial of Joseph McElheny Friday. It seemed like a decision might be made on the nine counts facing Hoosick Falls resident, charged with killing his 4-month-old daughter last year, but the fate of this young father will not be determined until at least next week.

This seems to be to the dismay of some of the jurors, since at 7:30 p.m., after spending about 10 hours at the Rensselaer County Courthouse, Judge Andrew Ceresia said the jury could be dismissed, but the seven women and five men of the jury unanimously decided they did not yet want to leave. Then, about an hour later at 8:30 p.m., the jury sent a message to the judge stating it wanted to call it a night since its members were not getting any closer to a decision.

McElheny faces second-degree murder, second-degree manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, reckless endangerment, and four assault charges. The charges’ sentences range from less than a year to 25 years to life in prison.

During the course of the day Friday, the jury asked for a read back of some testimony related to accidental versus nonaccidental fractures, and asked for the definitions of the charges.

The trial has been ongoing for almost one month.

Thursday morning, both the defense and the prosecution presented their closing arguments, with Public Defender Greg Cholakis and Assistant District Attorney Christa Book attempting to discredit the others’ witnesses through contradicting medical theories.

Close to 1,500 photos of Ina were introduced as evidence, but Book said a photo represents only about a second of time, leaving more than 11 million seconds of Ina’s 135-day life unaccounted for.

The defense’s medical witnesses confirmed that Ina’s 18 fractures at the time of her death were the result of rickets, Cholakis said in his closing remarks Thursday.

The jury will reconvene at the Rensselaer County Courthouse after the holiday weekend on Tuesday at 11 a.m.

http://troyrecord.com/articles/2011/10/08/news/doc4e8fe28299a18059468527.txt

Jurors have questions in baby death case
By BOB GARDINIER Staff writer
Published 01:45 p.m., Tuesday, October 11, 2011

TROY -- Jurors returned to their third day of deliberations on Tuesday in the case of a Hoosick Falls father accused of killing his infant. The panel quickly asked for some legal definitions and to hear witness testimony.

In the trial, which has now entered its fourth week, Joseph McElheny, 32, faces murder, manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, assault and endangering charges in the May 12, 2010 death of his baby daughter Ina Jane McElheny. An autopsy showed the child had 18 fractures in various stages of healing and a perforated small intestine which led to an infection and death.

Jurors at about 12:30 p.m. asked Judge Andrew Ceresia to read to them the legal definitions of circumstantial evidence and of reasonable doubt. They also asked that the cross examination of prosecution witness Dr. Jeffrey Hubbard, the pathologist in the case, be read back to them.

Prosecutors claim McElheny abused the child and inflicted a blow to her abdomen which caused the perforation.

Defense experts testified the child had a vitamin D deficiency, which caused weak bones, and a congenital bowel condition that caused a blockage, which led to the perforation.

Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Jurors-have-questions-in-baby-death-case-2213085.php#ixzz1aVAJxzw5

Jurors say they're deadlocked in baby death case, but continue to deliberate
Updated 07:05 p.m., Tuesday, October 11, 2011

TROY -- Jurors continued for the third day Tuesday to deliberate on whether they believe Joseph McElheny killed his infant daughter or believe defense claims that congenital health issues caused her death.

Jurors around 4 p.m. told Rensselaer County Judge Andrew Ceresia that they were deadlocked on three of the nine charges they must consider and may not be able to reach a unanimous verdict.

Ceresia then read them an Allen Charge, which is a prepared legal statement that urges them to try to continue to an agreement. Such charges are usually only given once to a deliberating jury.

During the reading of the charge, one juror openly shook her head 'no' to some of the statements indicating that she and possibly others felt the panel was at an impasse.

They then returned to the jury room and continued to deliberate into the evening and at times loud arguments could be heard in the court hallway coming from the room.

Over the past three weeks, jurors have heard testimony from three medical experts for the prosecution and three for the defense. There was no physical or forensic evidence offered connecting McElheny to the death of his 4-month-old baby, Ina Jane McElheny, and both he and his wife, Melinda Anders McElheny, gave statements to police and testified during trial that the baby was not abused at home. Many of their friends and co-workers also testified for the defense and all said the couple were good parents and the child was always happy and looked well.

McElheny, a stay-at-home dad who was nearly the sole caretaker of the child, according to testimony, faces charges of second-degree murder, second-degree manslaughter, assault and endangering the welfare of a child. The baby died May 12, 2010, at Albany Medical Center Hospital after being found unresponsive at the couple's Hoosick Falls home.

An autopsy showed the child had 18 fractures in various stages of healing and a perforated small intestine that led to an infection and death.

Defense attorney Gregory Cholakis, in closing arguments Thursday, pointed out that the parents took 1,500 pictures and more than 200 videos of baby Ina Jane over her four-month life span.

"There was never even five days that went by that this child was not photographed and seen out visiting Staples, Stewart's or the bank, and on Facebook'' Cholakis told jurors. "He even had a web cam in the baby's crib ... and would anyone who is harming their child do that?"

"Sure, they said there are 1,500 pictures, but they only represent 1,500 seconds of the child's life,'' said Christa Book during her closing statements. "If you do the math, her life was 11,664,000 seconds long.''

Prosecutors have said the baby's broken bones in her legs and ribs were caused by an adult squeezing her torso and twisting her legs, and the perforated bowel was caused by a sharp blow to the abdomen.

Defense experts testified the child had a vitamin D deficiency, which caused weak bones, and a condition called rickets, which could cause bones to break during normal handling. They also contend the child had a congenital bowel condition called intussusception, a problem with the intestine in which one portion of bowel slides into the next, much like sections of a telescope. They said a blockage led to the perforation.

"Their expert witnesses have all used terms like 'probably,' 'most likely,' 'I would suspect,' 'usually,' and 'I would think so,' '' Cholakis said. "My client is kind of a nerdy, tech guy who would rather have an intelligent debate with you than become violent. Joe McElheny is not a monster.''

But Book countered that the father, who she called a control freak, inflicted the injuries and covered it up.

"She never lived long enough to talk, but if she did, her first word would have been 'help,' '' Book said. "He sat there all day long and watched his child die and did nothing about it.''

Book also criticized the defense team's expert witnesses, saying that, when pressed, the witnesses could not provide case studies proving their theories. She also noted that all the experts admitted they have not seen a child die of intussusception in at least 26 years.

The jury began deliberations Thursday afternoon after getting legal instructions on the charges they must consider.

Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Jurors-say-they-re-deadlocked-in-baby-death-case-2213085.php#ixzz1aWSYq9R2

Jurors to try again in Troy baby death
Panel tells judge they are deadlocked on 3 of 9 counts in McElheny case
By Bob gardinier Staff writer
Updated 11:53 p.m., Tuesday, October 11, 2011


TROY -- Jurors in the trial of Joseph McElheny, accused of killing his infant daughter, were sent home at about 8 p.m. Tuesday after nine hours of deliberations failed to bring a verdict.
They'll return at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday for a fourth day of trying to reach a decision on whether they believe McElheny killed his infant daughter or the defense's argument that congenital health issues caused Ina Jane McElheny's death.
Around 4 p.m., jurors told Rensselaer County Judge Andrew Ceresia that they were deadlocked on three of the nine charges they must consider and thought they might not reach a unanimous verdict.
Ceresia then read them an Allen Charge, a prepared legal statement that urges them to try to continue to come to an agreement. Such charges are usually only given once to a deliberating jury.
During the reading of the charge, one juror openly shook her head "no" to some of the statements, indicating that she and possibly others felt the panel was at an impasse.
They then returned to the jury room and continued to deliberate into the evening, and at times loud arguments could be heard in the court hallway coming from the room. They also asked for a read-back about reckless endangerment.
Over the past three weeks, jurors have heard testimony from three medical experts for the prosecution and three for the defense. There was no physical or forensic evidence offered connecting McElheny to the death of his 4-month-old daughter, and both he and his wife, Melinda Anders McElheny, gave statements to police and testified during trial that the baby was not abused at home. Many of their friends and co-workers also testified for the defense and all said the couple were good parents and the child was always happy and looked well.
McElheny, a stay-at-home dad who was nearly the sole caretaker of the child, according to testimony, faces charges of second-degree murder, second-degree manslaughter, assault and endangering the welfare of a child. The baby died May 12, 2010, at Albany Medical Center Hospital after being found unresponsive at the couple's Hoosick Falls home.
An autopsy showed the child had 18 fractures in various stages of healing and a perforated small intestine that led to an infection and death.
Defense attorney Gregory Cholakis, in closing arguments Thursday, pointed out that the parents took 1,500 pictures and more than 200 videos of Ina Jane over her life span.
"There was never even five days that went by that this child was not photographed and seen out visiting Staples, Stewart's or the bank, and on Facebook,'' Cholakis told jurors. "He even had a webcam in the baby's crib ... and would anyone who is harming their child do that?"
"Sure, they said there are 1,500 pictures, but they only represent 1,500 seconds of the child's life,'' said Christa Book during her closing statements. "If you do the math, her life was 11,664,000 seconds long.''
Prosecutors have said the baby's broken bones in her legs and ribs were caused by an adult squeezing her torso and twisting her legs, and the perforated bowel was caused by a sharp blow to the abdomen.
Defense experts testified the child had a vitamin D deficiency that caused weak bones and a condition called rickets, which could cause bones to break during normal handling. They also contend the child had a congenital bowel condition called intussusception, a problem with the intestine in which one portion of bowel slides into the next, much like sections of a telescope. They said a blockage led to the perforation.
"Their expert witnesses have all used terms like 'probably,' 'most likely,' 'I would suspect,' 'usually,' and 'I would think so,' '' Cholakis said. "My client is kind of a nerdy, tech guy who would rather have an intelligent debate with you than become violent. Joe McElheny is not a monster.''
But Book countered that the father, whom she called a control freak, inflicted the injuries and covered it up.
"She never lived long enough to talk, but if she did, her first word would have been 'help,' '' Book said. "He sat there all day long and watched his child die and did nothing about it.''
Book also criticized the defense team's expert witnesses, saying that, when pressed, the witnesses could not provide case studies proving their theories. She also noted that all the experts admitted they have not seen a child die of intussusception in at least 26 years.


Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Jurors-to-try-again-in-Troy-baby-death-2213085.php#ixzz1aZdKwYWz

Joseph McElheny acquitted of manslaughter and murder in death of his 4-month-old daughter

Published: Wednesday, October 12, 2011

TROY — After 37 hours of deliberations, the jury found Joe McElheny not guilty of eight of the nine charges and deadlocked on the endangering the welfare of a child.

McElheny, of Hoosick Falls, was charged with killing his 4-month-old daughter Ina.

He faced charges of murder, manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, reckless endangerment and four counts of assault. He was looking at 25 years to life.

Through the three-week trial, the defense and prosecution put on the stand dueling medical experts with one side claiming McElheny beat his daughter through her life fracturing a number of bones and the other saying the injury that ended up killing her – a torn bowel – was due to an intestinal condition.

Also taking the stand were a number of friends who called McElheny was a proud, happy father who liked to show his daughter off and that Ina was a happy child.

McElheny also testified in his own defense as did his wife and Ina’s mother Melinda.

McElheny was released on his own recognizance by Judge Andrew Ceresia while prosecutors determine what they want to do with the endangering charge. Since McElheny has spent the last 14 months in jail, even if convicted of the misdemeanor he will not see anymore jail time.

I hope the new baby will be kept safe by the state of VT, since the mother doesn't have sense enough to leave.

Final charge dismissed against Hoosick Falls man

Posted: 10/18/2011 10:47:53 PM EDT

Tuesday October 18, 2011
TROY, N.Y. -- The final remaining charge against Joseph McElheny of Hoosick Falls was dismissed Tuesday morning in Rensselaer County Superior Court.

Prosecutors had the option of retrying the case with a new trial for the sole charge the jury remained deadlocked on after last week’s partial verdict. McElheny was released after being cleared of eight out the nine charges he faced in the 2010 death of his infant daughter.

The maximum sentence for the remaining charge, a misdemeanor count of endangering the welfare of a child, would have meant less jail time than McElheny already served awaiting trial. He had spent 14 months in Rensselaer County Jail before being released Oct. 12.

A mistrial was ultimately declared on the ninth charge after the jury could not come to a unanimous decision.

Judge Andrew Ceresia dismissed the charge with prejudice, meaning it cannot be brought to court again.

-- Zeke Wright

http://www.benningtonbanner.com/local/ci_19143083