Parents charged, first-degree assault..

[Tylergal]

ROCHESTER, Minnesota (AP) -- A couple were charged Wednesday with abusing a 4-month-old conjoined twin who was separated from his brother after birth.

According to a criminal complaint, the infant was returned to the hospital January 11. Doctors found eight fractures in the boy's legs and 16 rib fractures. Some injuries appeared to have begun healing, while others were newer, the complaint said.

Valerie J. James, 19, and Robert L. Heck III, 26, both of Mankato, Minnesota, were each charged with first-degree assault and aiding and abetting, said police Lt. Dan Muyres.

Neither parent was in custody, though the children were removed from their parents' custody and placed in supervised care. An April 12 court appearance has been set.

Heck denied the allegations Wednesday but said he would not comment further until he spoke with his attorney.

Jacob and Jordan James were joined at the abdomen when they were born in November. They immediately underwent successful separation surgery. One of the boys remained in the hospital after the other was released January 3.

Heck and James also have another child, a toddler. It was not immediately clear whether the toddler also was removed from the couple's custody.

[MsVada]

 
what is wrong with these people??

[MuffyBee]

Lawyer seeks dismissal in conjoined-twin abuse case
http://tinyurl.com/25jy4n

Accused Child Abuser In Court
http://www.kttc.com/News/index.php?ID=17052

[pdh3]

This makes me sick. A tiny baby. It's indefensible.

[Nut44x4]

Published November 05, 2008 10:31 pm - A judge’s ruling that ended a mother’s custody of her three children, including twin brothers that were born conjoined, has been overturned by the Minnesota Court of Appeals.

Decision overturned in conjoined twins case

MANKATO, MN —
A judge’s ruling that ended a mother’s custody of her three children, including twin brothers that were born conjoined, has been overturned by the Minnesota Court of Appeals.

The appeals court ruling sends the parental custody case back to Blue Earth County District Court Judge Bradley Walker. The order he issued in February ended all contact Valerie J. James had with her children.

Blue Earth County authorities removed the children from her house after doctors at the May Clinic in Rochester reported one of the twin boys had 24 bone fractures that resulted from at least two assaults. Robert Lee Heck III, the father of the twins, has been charged with first-degree assault in Olmsted County.

The appeals court ruling, issued Tuesday, said Walker had not shown there was evidence James was responsible for what happened to her son, whether she knew about the harm or whether the extent of the injuries showed she had a lack of regard for the boy’s well being.

In his order, Walker said his custody decision was heavily based on testimony of the Rochester medical staff who reported the injuries. Little weight was given to another witness who claimed to have heard the voices of an angry man and a whimpering child at the Ronald McDonald house in Rochester. Heck had been staying there with the injured boy while the other boy was being treated for problems related to the separation of the twins.

Walker also pointed out that James had testified she knew Heck was using marijuana and methamphetamine in their home. And both parents failed to seek help when they noticed bruises on the injured boy’s body, Walker said.

“(The boy) suffered egregious harm while in the care and control of (James) and (Heck),” Walker’s order said. “At least one of these individuals caused the fractures to this child, while they both ignored the obvious symptoms of a child in distress and failed to seek timely and appropriate medication.”

That was not enough, the Court of Appeals ruling said. The judges issuing the ruling also pointed out that they were basing their opinion on a Supreme Court ruling that had been issued after Walker’s decision.

Both Heck and James faced assault charges at one time, but the charges were dismissed. Olmsted County challenged the Heck dismissal and the Court of Appeals sent his case back for trial. Both James and Heck also are facing charges of aiding an offender.

Attorneys for both parents have argued all the criminal charges should be dismissed. They say there is no evidence of an assault and it is possible the boy’s injuries were the result of an accident, weak bones, or both.

Mark Betters, Heck’s attorney for the custody case, said Tuesday that a ruling that ended parental custody for Heck also could have been overturned. That ruling was not appealed within the legal time limits, however.

http://www.mankatofreepress.com/local/local_story_310223125.html