CAYDEN LASSETER - 14 Months (2010) - Cedar City UT

A 24-year-old Cedar City man was arrested Friday in connection with the death of a 14-month-old child. Thomas Harry Canum III, was booked into the Iron County Jail for investigation of child abuse homicide following the death of the child on Sept. 28, according to a statement issued by the Cedar City Police Department. Police officers were called to Valley View Medical Center around 6:30 p.m. that day when doctors began to treat the toddler, who had sustained head injuries. The child was later flown by medical helicopter to Primary Children's Hospital where it underwent emergency surgery. The toddler died during the operation. Police said Canum had been watching the child the night it sustained the fatal injuries, leading police to interview him. According to the statement, the child's injuries were not consistent with Canum's explanations. Police also interviewed the child's family and subsequently arrested Canum.

A 24-year-old man was arrested in connection with the death of a 14-month-old child. Police booked Thomas Harry Canum III into the Iron County Jail for investigation of child abuse homicide. Officers were called to Valley View Medical Center around 6:30 p.m., on Sept. 28, after doctors had started treating the toddler for serious head injuries. The child was later flown by medical helicopter to Primary Children's Medical Center for emergency surgery but the toddler died during the operation. Police said Canum had been watching the child that night but that his statement was inconsistent with the toddler's injuries. Prosecutors later charged him with first-degree felony child abuse homicide and a preliminary hearing is set for Nov. 3, according to court documents.

Man pleads not guilty in child's death
March 31. 2011 7:36AM

CEDAR CITY - The family of 14-month old Cayden Lasseter, who died from serious head injuries last September, sat in the courtroom as the boyfriend of Lasseter's mother pleaded not guilty to first-degree felony child abuse homicide on Wednesday.
Thomas Harry Canum III, 24, of Cedar City, had his preliminary hearing in 5th District Court in which Judge Michael Westfall found evidence in the autopsy report, medical report from a local emergency room physician and testimony from the chief investigator sufficient for the charge.
The court is scheduling a three-day jury trial for later this year.
Canum's attorney Jack Burns objected having the reports turned in as evidence, but was overruled. Burns also argued the charge of criminal negligence, a second-degree felony, would be more appropriate.
"There is no evidence presented of recklessness," Burns said.
Prosecutor Troy Little, chief deputy Iron County attorney, disagreed and said the police report from Cedar City Police Officer Clint Pollock included statements allegedly made by Canum that he shook his child several times.
"He said he couldn't handle the crying anymore," Pollock said on the witness stand, adding Canum allegedly rocked his whole arms to display the motion used.
Burns said the report also included the child had fallen from a couch and hit a coffee table, and Pollock confirmed a coffee table sat near the couch at the apartment of the mother, Molly, where Canum was allegedly alone with the Lasseter baby while the mother was running errands.
The mother, with Cayden's name tattooed on her left, cried as Pollock began recounting what Canum said in his interview. Several family members gasped on hearing him plead not guilty.
Cedar City Police officers had responded to Valley View Medical Center that day in September after doctors started treating the child for head injuries, according to a news release issued by Sgt. JR Robinson, public information officer for CCPD.
Lasseter was flown to Primary Children's Hospital for emergency surgery, but did not make it through, according to the release.
Canum was booked into Iron County Jail with bail set at $100,000.
Another Cedar City man, Andy Roy Gorecki, is facing the same charge in the death of his infant son that occurred after he suffered severe head injuries in December 2009.
Gorecki appeared in court before Canum on Wednesday but his attorney Burns moved the hearing to April 13 because of the unavailability of a witness.
Gorecki was initially arrested on assault charges, but the charges were increased after the infant died in long-term care.
http://www.thespectrum.com/article/20110331/NEWS01/103310314/Father+pleads+not+guilty+in+child+s+death

CEDAR CITY - After nearly five hours of deliberation, the
eight-person jury in the trial of Thomas Harry Canum III returned with a
verdict of guilty to one charge of child abuse homicide by serious
injury with criminal negligence, a second-degree felony, in 5th District
Court Friday following three days of testimony.The
jury found Canum, a 25-year-old Cedar City resident, guilty of shaking
14-month-old Cayden Lasseter and causing fatal injuries to the child
while the child's mother, Molly Gricius, was shopping in October 2010.
The jury also decided that Canum did not know shaking would cause
serious injuries to the child, leading to the criminal negligence
portion of the charge. Canum faces up to 15 years in prison.
Canum
was arrested in October 2010 and pleaded not guilty to first-degree
felony child abuse homicide by serious injury with recklessness in March
2011.
On Friday,
Canum's attorney, Jack Burns, concluded his defense by attempting to
discredit the testimony of Eric Proctor, an inmate at Iron County Jail
who testified on Wednesday he had known Canum while they were both in
jail and that Canum admitted to shaking Lasseter and throwing the child
on a couch.
Detective
Mike Blake of the Cedar City Police Department, who received the
information from Proctor, was questioned by Burns regarding whether
Proctor expected or was promised any leniency for felony charges he
faces in return for testimony against Canum.
"He
talked a lot about wanting to get out and see his family again," Blake
said. "But he never asked specifically for anything, and I never
specifically offered anything."
Before
the closing statements, Judge Michael Westfall told the jury there were
three possible verdicts they could return with: guilty of child abuse
homicide by serious injury with recklessness, guilty of child abuse
homicide by serious injury with criminal negligence, or not guilty.
Westfall
explained that a criminal negligence charge was lesser than a
recklessness charge. He said a negligence charge indicates the person
should have known what he or she were doing was dangerous, while a
recklessness charge indicates the person knew what they were doing was
dangerous.

During closing statements, Chief Deputy Iron County Attorney Troy
Little went through the facts of the case that were not in dispute,
including the fact that Canum did shake Lasseter."Everyone knows you don't shake a baby," Little said.
Little
also showed photographs of Lasseter both as a healthy baby and when he
was strapped to a table with breathing tubes in his mouth before he was
transported to Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City,
where he died on an operating table.
"You will not hear from Cayden because he died at Mr. Canum's hands," Little said.
In
the defense's closing statement, Burns told the jury he was not seeking
a verdict of not guilty, but rather guilty of the lesser charge of
child abuse homicide by serious injury with criminal negligence.
Burns
said there was no way Canum could have known that shaking a baby could
cause fatal injuries because not even the experts could completely agree
on whether shaking alone can cause fatal injuries. Burns supported his
statement by reviewing the testimony of Dr. Darrell Wilson, who treated
Lasseter at Valley View Medical Center, and Dr. Edward Leis, who
performed the autopsy on Lasseter. Both of the doctors testified that it
was possible that shaking alone was not enough to cause Lasseter's
injuries.
Burns
also said Canum did not testify at the trial because his testimony was
presented during a recorded four-hour interview conducted by the Cedar
City Police Department during which he admitted to shaking Lasseter.
"Thomas
is full of remorse, and he wants to take responsibility for what he
did, but he could not have known his actions would cause the death of
Cayden," Burns said.
Canum remained silent but nodded his head in agreement when Burns said Canum wanted to take responsibility.
Westfall ordered a pre-sentence investigation to take place, with sentencing scheduled for April 24.

http://www.thespectrum.com/article/20120310/NEWS01/203100340/Cedar-City-man-faces-up-15-years-prison-infant-s-death?odyssey=nav|head