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Father on trial for child's death

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Casey Shelton

MONROE — Detectives investigating the 2007 death of 2-month-old Christopher Shelton focused too quickly on the boy's father, dismissing the mother as a suspect, a defense attorney told a jury Monday.

The trial for the boy's father, Casey Shelton, 32, Brodhead, started Monday. He is charged with first-degree reckless homicide.

Defense attorney Michael Murphy told the jury Green County sheriff's detectives "planted a seed" in the mind of the man who performed the autopsy and focused on Shelton as the suspect without looking at others—most notably Christopher's mother, Amy Uptegraw.

"Shelton's statements (to the police) have been consistent. Uptegraw's haven't," Murphy said. "There was tunnel vision on the part of the prosecution and the detectives. They already determined what happened. They fit their investigation to their assumptions."

Green County Assistant District Attorney Jeff Kohl said the evidence points to Shelton's guilt. He said Shelton called 911 to report that his son had stopped breathing in an apartment in Decatur Township. The infant later was pronounced dead at Mercy Hospital in Janesville.

The autopsy showed injuries to Christopher's brain and broken ribs caused by someone shaking the baby, Kohl said.

"He said Christopher had some milk with some formula and began choking," Kohl said. "He says he put him on the floor and pushed on his chest."

But Kohl said there's no evidence to support Shelton's claim that the baby vomited.

He portrayed Shelton as abusive to his twin sons, Christopher and Charles. He said Shelton put rags in their mouths and covered them with blankets when they cried. He told the jury Shelton threw Charles onto the floor.

Kohl said Shelton showed "utter disregard for human life and caused Christopher's death."

Murphy said the injuries could have occurred earlier than Feb. 28. He suggested Uptegraw had a history of threatening her children and violence toward her children but Shelton did not.

"She said Casey was a good father," Murphy said as he recounted Uptegraw's initial statements about Shelton. "She changed her statement."

Murphy said one of Amy's children hit the baby in the head with a football about a week before he died. He said the injury could have led to the baby's death.

Kelly Murray, an emergency medical technician who lived near Shelton's apartment, testified Monday that she arrived at the Shelton's apartment a few minutes after Shelton called 911.

She said the baby was on the living room floor without a pulse. She said she called his name and tapped his feet to try to get a response, then administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation. She said the baby vomited a little when she performed CPR, but she didn't notice any other vomit or towels.

Green County Deputy Coroner Lucinda Wyss testified she first saw Christopher after he was pronounced dead at Mercy Hospital and didn't see any bruises or blood on the body.

Shelton also faces child abuse charges in connections to injuries sustained by Christopher's twin brother, Charles. A three-day trial for those charges is scheduled to begin Feb. 4.