KAEDYN SHORT - 22 Months (2009)/ Convicted: Mother's BF; James Parker III - Highland County FL

The first trial stemming from the 2009 death of 22-month-old Kaedyn Short begins today and is scheduled to run through Friday if needed.Linda Louise Payne, 41, is charged with failure to report child neglect or abuse, a first-degree misdemeanor. If convicted, she could face up to a year in prison.Court records indicate that 16 witnesses are listed to possibly offer testimony. The trial will be overseen by Judge Anthony Ritenour.Payne is the director of A Better Choice Children's Academy in Sebring, which Kaedyn Short reportedly attended. Both she and another worker, Sara Vasquez, 26, were accused of failing to report suspected abuse between Dec. 1, 2007 and Oct. 31, 2008.Short died May 27, 2009 at a hospice home where she was being cared for in her final days. She was the daughter of ex-Avon Park Police Officer James Parker's former live-in girlfriend, Jennifer Sue Short.The child had been on life support at a St. Petersburg hospital for some time after being hospitalized for severe injuries she suffered on March 29 of last year.Short, then 20 months old, was taken to Highlands Regional Medical Center with several bruises and a reported skull fracture. Jennifer Short, 29, was at work at the time and Parker, 34, was watching the child, according to the Highlands County Sheriff's Office.Det. Tyrone Tyson testified during a May 2009 hearing that there was evidence of older injuries found on Kaedyn Short. They included a fractured right collarbone that was two months old at the time, and a broken elbow that happened a week prior to March 29.Parker was charged with first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse. He remains in the Highlands County Jail under no bond.A trial date has still not been set. Parker is next due in court on Dec. 16 at 8:30 a.m. for a pretrial conference. The state previously announced they would not seek the death penalty.Short was charged with failure to report child abuse and neglect of a child causing great bodily harm. Her next court appearance is a Feb. 23, 2011 pretrial conference. No trial date has been set.Vasquez is scheduled for a Jan. 26 deferred prosecution review.Deferred prosecution is defined as the defendant admitting his or her guilt, waiving the same constitutional rights as if they were pleading guilty before a judge, agreeing to specific written terms of the agreement and promising not to break any law more serious that a speeding ticket.Successfully completed deferred prosecutions are eligible for complete expunctions. If a person breaks the agreement, the original case can be refiled with their confession.

Payne found not guilty

December 15, 2010

SEBRING -- Linda Louise Payne, 41, was acquitted by a jury on Friday after facing charges that she did not report suspected abuse upon 22-month-old Kaedyn Short.

Short died on May 27, 2009 from bruises and a skull fracture, allegedly caused by ex-Avon park Police Officer James Parker.

Parker is charged with first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse. Short was placed on life support due to her injuries in March of 2009.

Parker is still awaiting trial and is scheduled for a pretrial conference on Thursday.

The child's mother, Jennifer Sue Short, was charged with failure to report child abuse and neglect of a child causing great bodily harm, and is also awaiting trial.

Payne, according to Highlands prosecutor Courtney Lenhart, failed to produce an incident report on Kaedyn after an investigation into her death began.

Teachers at the day care reported bruises on the infant in 2008.

Payne's defense attorney pointed out that Payne was not at the day care the day the incident report was filed and that two teachers at the day care who noticed the bruises never contacted the Department of Children and Family Services.

The assistant director, Sara Vasquez, took the report and called the mother, who claimed that the bruises were caused from the child playing in moving boxes at a babysitter's house.

Vasquez was also charged with failure to report abuse, but received deferred prosecution.

The jurors took just over two hours of deliberation to render the not guilty verdict.
http://www.newssun.com/121510-eb-short

Def Name Date Of Birth Sex Race Def Int Lang Fdle Number Doc Number Fbi Number Juv Security
JAMES HILTON PARKER III 7/7/1976 M W 729623EC4 A N

PTC PRE-TRIAL CONFERENCE 06/23/2011 - 08:30 AM ESTRADA, PETER M 2B

http://courts.hcclerk.org/iquery/default.aspx

PTC

PRE-TRIAL CONFERENCE

07/19/2011 - 08:30 AM

COWDEN, ANGELA

M

2B

http://courts.hcclerk.org/iquery/default.aspx

James Hilton Parker

JTR

JURY TRIAL

02/13/2012 - 08:30 AM

COWDEN, ANGELA

M

2B

http://courts.hcclerk.org/iquery/default.aspx

Thanks to Maid of the Mer for her diligence in keeping up with these cases and letting the suspects know that we have not forgotten what they allegedly did. You are also letting the families and friends of the victims know that we most certainly have not forgotten them and their tragedy,

Jenifer Short sentenced


FILE RYAN PELHAM/STAFF
Jenifer Short wipes tears out of her eye during her testimony in James Parker III's trial in September.

Gary Pinnell | Highlands Today
Published: November 27, 2012  
Updated: March 11, 2013 at 09:13 PM

SEBRING - Jenifer Short pleaded no contest Monday to failure to report child abuse, a third-degree felony.

It was the final legal action in a murder case that left her 22-month-daughter, Kaedyn, dead of massive brain injuries.

Short was sentenced to five years probation, plus fines and court costs, by Circuit Court Judge Angela Cowden.

Assistant State Attorney Steve Houchin said that investigators and doctors determined, without a doubt, that James Hilton Parker III injured the child after Short reported for work as a nurse at Highlands Regional Medical Center.

"There is no question she had been away for hours," Houchin said.

"What was important to me was that, without a subpoena, without immunity, she testified to a grand jury not only what she found had occurred, but the events leading up to that," the prosecutor said.

As a nurse, Short was aware that Kaedyn kept sustaining non-life-threatening injuries, Houchin said.

"But in all fairness to Miss Short," Houchin explained, "the grand jury had the benefit of hindsight."

"It was my belief that she never abused the child," Houchin said.

Short testified to the grand jury that Parker, then an Avon Park police officer, always had an explanation for how or why the toddler was injured.

As a result, neither law enforcement nor the Department of Families and Children ever got involved.

In subsequent interviews with investigators, Houchin said, Short could have edged the truth, or could have defended herself or her live-in fiancé.

Instead, state's attorney found Short to be completely truthful, even to her own detriment.

Since that incident, Houchin said, Short has married and mothered two more children, and he does not believe what he called a very sad incident will be repeated.

Richard Pipkin, Short's original attorney, appeared beside her.

He told Judge Cowden that he has been a friend to Short since she was 2 years old, that she was a visitor to his home many times.

Pipkin, now retired, said he heard Short "beat herself up," many times, saying "I should have known. I should have known."

Short's current attorney, Linda Rodriguez-Torrent, introduced Short's new husband, her pastor, family members and a DCF worker, all of whom were prepared to testify in her defense that they had seen no reportable injuries in the days leading up to Kaedyn's March 29, 2009, beating and death six weeks later.

According to testimony in Parker's September murder trial, he and Short argued about moving to Las Vegas, where he wanted them to find jobs.

William Ward, who worked with Parker, testified that once while he was over, Parker looked at Kaedyn and said, "I beat the s--- out of you," Ward testified. "And he looked up at me and smiled."

Short was uncomfortable about leaving Kaedyn with Parker that night, but she had to report for work as a nurse at Highlands Regional Medical Center. She unsuccessfully called at least three potential babysitters.

Later that night, Parker called Short and insisted she come home. Kaedyn, he said, wasn't acting right. Short resisted, but eventually did return home. She found Kaedyn on the recliner, next to a laptop computer.

"She did not look good, at all," Short cried. The baby was pale, unresponsive, her eyes rolled back, and she vomited on the way to the hospital.

Parker didn't want to go to hospital, and Short had to insist. Finally, Parker got out of his chair, then sat down again. Then he started toward the girls' bedroom, insisting that they take everyone.

No, Short ordered this time. He could call his father to come over and watch the older girls. They must go. Now.

"Did it appear Mr. Parker attempted to render first-responder aid?" Houchin asked.

"No," Short said.

"Did he have a vehicle?" the state's attorney asked.

"Yes."

"Did he call 911?"

"Not that I'm aware of," Short said.

Finally, Parker drove Short and Kaedyn to Highlands Regional, where Short screamed for help.

"They got her into the ER and started working on her," Short's voice choked during Parker's trial.

Afterward, did Short ask Parker what happened?

"He had two versions of that," Short said. Kaedyn fell over a pile of laundry and hit her head. She held her breath until she stopped breathing. And then a third version, that Kaedyn fell from the top of a bunk bed, and a fourth, that she stumbled on the carpet and hit her head on the laptop.

Short said that Kaedyn actually slept on a bed near the floor, and was never allowed on the top of the bunk bed. The older girls slept there.

While changing her diaper, Parker also told investigators, he "popped her on the butt'" twice and she fell.

- See more at: http://highlandstoday.com/hi/local-news/jenifer-short-sentenced-576757#sthash.tsP73ikl.dpuf

Former cop was convicted Wednesday in child’s death

Gary Pinnell | Highlands Today
Published: September 22, 2012
Updated: March 11, 2013 at 08:24 PM

SEBRING - The public defender's office is already preparing the paperwork for the appeal of James Parker III, convicted Wednesday in the murder of 22-month-old Kaedyn Short.

Parker, 36, a former Avon Park police officer, was driven Friday morning to the Department of Corrections' Central Florida Reception Center in Orlando, said Major David Paeplow at Highlands County Jail.

Parker's attorney, Howardene Garrett, said other attorneys in the 10th Circuit Public Defenders Office will handle the appeal. "It's always good to look at these things with fresh eyes."

The three-judge appeals panel will decide if sufficient evidence existed to convict Parker, but it won't reweigh that evidence, Garrett said. Instead, appeals are based on judicial errors that may have occurred, which could win Parker a new trial.

Parker was sentenced immediately after the trial to life without parole on the murder charge and 30 years on the child abuse charge.

Although Judge Dennis Maloney gave Parker the option of a presentencing investigation, the life sentence was mandatory, Garrett said. She conferred with her client, and he chose to waive that right.

However, she said, as a convicted murderer, Parker also has the absolute right under Florida law to an appeal.

Prosecuting attorney Steve Houchin surmised that the jury must have concluded that since Parker was the only adult present on March 2009 night when Kaedyn was injured, that only he could be responsible. The evidence, Houchin said, proved that multiple blows to her head on that night were the cause of death.

Garrett didn't agree.

"But I would only be guessing what they thought," she said.

The defense contended that other cranial injuries could have been caused by Kaedyn falling off the top bunk bed or by her mother, Jenifer Sue Short, braking the car suddenly.

Although Garrett said Friday afternoon that she had not spoken to Parker since he was led to jail Wednesday night, "he was more concerned for his mother and his family than he was for himself. He is very gentlemanly. What you saw on the witness stand is how he is."

Short, who lived with Parker in Sebring until they were arrested, appeared in court Wednesday before Judge Angela Cowden.

She is charged with two felonies: neglect of a child with great bodily harm and failure to report child abuse within the home.

Short's pretrial conference was continued until 1:15 p.m. Oct. 1. Houchin said she may stand trial later this year.

- See more at: http://highlandstoday.com/hi/local-news/parkers-attorneys-are-appealing-509106#sthash.k3PdudCo.dpuf