Innocent plea in infant's beating

The father accused of repeatedly abusing and finally critically injuring his 7-week-old daughter because she wouldn't stop crying was back in Vermont District Court Monday afternoon, this time with a public defender at his side who has a reputation for being assigned some of Vermont's highest-profile murder cases.

Innocent plea in infant's beating

Father held; prognosis for baby grim

By ERIC FRANCIS, Contributing Writer
Twin State Valley Media Network
Wednesday, September 03, 2008 7:58 PM

WHITE RIVER JUNCTION -- The father accused of repeatedly abusing and finally critically injuring his 7-week-old daughter because she wouldn't stop crying was back in Vermont District Court Monday afternoon, this time with a public defender at his side who has a reputation for being assigned some of Vermont's highest-profile murder cases.

Wearing the same red polo shirt and dejected expression that he appeared in court with on Friday, Andrew Bedner Jr., 28, of Springfield stood silently in handcuffs behind the defense table and watched as attorney David Sleigh entered innocent pleas on his behalf to two counts of first degree aggravated domestic assault. After, the hearing Bedner was returned to the Southeast Correctional facility in Springfield for lack of bail.

Detectives waiting outside the courtroom said there had been no meaningful change that they could discuss over the weekend in the condition of the baby girl who has so far only been identified in court proceedings by her initials "CB."

Police had already filed a doctor's report with the court on Friday that concluded CB had sustained "devastating brain injuries" with a poor prognosis for survival and a grim outlook for her ability to mentally function even if she does.

Monday's arraignment contained the first hints that discussions may already be under way about whether to remove the infant from life support in the event that she is declared brain dead.

"Frankly, I don't know how to address this," Sleigh began as he broached the topic of Bedner's potential legal interest and role in any end-of-life discussion revolving around his daughter.

"To the extent possible, I would implore the court that Mr. Bedner be provided with notice and that he be represented by counsel," in any such decisions," Sleigh continued, noting that currently, even though the baby's mother, Kelly Hill, 23, of Springfield has not been implicated or charged with any wrongdoing in connection with her daughter's injuries, the child is now officially under the emergency guardianship of the Vermont Department of Children and Families.

Despite what detectives described as a full confession by Bedner on Thursday in which he allegedly admitted that three week ago he'd squeezed his daughter to the point he broke her ribs before he "completely lost control" last Monday night and struck her in the head with his elbow hard enough to fracture her skull, Sleigh argued to the court that, "Mr. Bedner still has legal parental rights," when it comes to any decision about whether to terminate life support.

Judge Kathleen Manley said that such an issue would probably be taken up in either family court or probate court instead of the criminal district court, but she noted Sleigh's request.

Left unsaid during Monday's proceedings was the fact that Bedner would almost certainly face some sort of manslaughter or homicide charges were his infant daughter to die, a scenario which further complicates the already complex situation presented by having a critically ill child who is presently in New Hampshire at the pediatric intensive care unit in Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center while Vermont authorities work across the state line in a separate legal jurisdiction trying to figure out how best to decide her fate.

One of those potential complexities was addressed after the hearing on Monday when Windsor County Deputy State's Attorney Robert Sand announced that his office had turned over all legal questions about life support issues to the Vermont Attorney General's Office.

"Jody Racht (the director of the attorney general's human services division) will be the individual coordinating any (end of life) issues that affect the state," Sand said. "Very early on in this case I made a decision that it made sense to have an outside attorney. The cleanest, clearest way to do it in my opinion was to completely separate the prosecution from the medical decisions."

During Monday's hearing, Sleigh indicated there were serious doubts as to whether Bedner will be able to post the $100,000 cash or surety bail that was imposed on Friday.

Sleigh asked Judge Manley to hold off on imposing further conditions on his client until the bail issue is resolved, but Manley did impose a "do not contact or harass" provision against Bedner in connection with Kelly Hill. Giving another glimpse into what is happening behind the scenes in the case, Sleigh mentioned in court that Hill currently has her own legal representation and some sort of case involving her, and presumably Bedner, has been filed in Windsor Family Court.

Bedner, whose criminal record consists of one traffic incident in Virginia in the 1990s, currently faces a maximum potential penalty of up to 15 years on each of the pair of felony domestic assault counts. His next scheduled court appearance is a Sept. 9 status conference on the criminal case.

http://tsv.live.mediaspanonline.com/ET/Story/080804-eaf-spfldbedner