Trial begins over death of 6-month-old boy
4/9/2014
Amanda Bacon
Testimony got under way today in Lucas County Common Pleas Court in the aggravated murder trial of a Toledo woman charged in the death of her 6-month-old son.
Amanda Bacon, 26, of 504 W. Alexis Rd., is charged with aggravated murder, murder, and endangering children in the Dec. 18, 2012, death of her son, Avery.
PHOTO GALLERY: Bacon trial begins
In her opening statement, Jennifer Liptack-Wilson, an assistant Lucas County prosecutor, described for the jury a mother who did not want and could not handle her infant son, who tried to give the baby to another couple to adopt, who was often “stuck” all day in an apartment with her baby but with no phone or car.
She told the jury that on the evening of Dec. 16, 2012, Ms. Bacon bashed her son’s head twice, causing a severe skull fracture that would end his life two days later. She said Ms. Bacon inflicted the injuries then left her son in the care of her “roommate,” Frank Jones, while she went to a hotel with another man who paid her for sex.
Ms. Liptack-Wilson said Mr. Jones called Ms. Bacon later that night to say something seemed to be seriously wrong with Avery. Ms. Bacon came home 40 minutes later, the prosecutor said, and eventually she and Mr. Jones took the baby to Mercy St. Anne’s Hospital where she began telling what would be a series of inconsistent stories about what happened to Avery.
“She bashed his head twice – shattered his skull,” Ms. Liptack-Wilson said. “He died two days later at University of Michigan Pediatric Hospital.”
Defense attorney Spiros Cocoves told the jury he agreed Avery’s death was tragic, agreed that he died as the result of a skull fracture, but he said the defense disagreed about when the injury occurred and who did it.
He asked Ms. Bacon to stand, telling the jury that as she stood in court she was presumed innocent until proven guilty. He suggested prosecutors would not be able to prove her guilt.
“Miss Bacon led an unconventional lifestyle …, but she’s not on trial for this lifestyle,” Mr. Cocoves said.
He said that during the trial, the jury would hear “plausible alternatives to the state’s interpretation” of what happened to young Avery.
The trial is expected to last through next week.
Contact Jennifer Feehan at: jfeehan@theblade.com or 419-213-2134.