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| Judge validates scalding charge |
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| News - Miami County News | |||
| Written by Brian McCauley | |||
| Wednesday, 28 January 2009 08:00 | |||
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A child endangerment charge stemming from the May 2006 scalding death of an infant in rural Paola was validated last week. The facts of the case were reviewed during an emotional preliminary hearing earlier this month, but District Judge Amy Harth delayed making a decision then on whether there was enough evidence to warrant the charge until she could review some related cases. During the hearing last week, Harth said she spent a lot of time researching the concept of recklessness and whether it could happen by failing to act. “I find that it can,” she said. “The state showed probable cause.” The words caused Karen Dwyer, the grandmother of the victim, to burst into tears. Dwyer has pushed for charges ever since the scalding took place. The incident occurred May 28, 2006, at Whispering Oaks Apartments between Paola and Louisburg. According to reports, Janis DeMasi, infant daughter of Fawn DeMasi, was scalded by boiling water that spilled from a stove and burned more than 70 percent of her body. The infant was at home with James Boomer, Fawn’s then live-in boyfriend, at the time of the incident. According to interviews following the incident, Boomer said he was boiling water to make macaroni and cheese, and when he heard it boiling over the top of the pot, he went into the kitchen, unaware that Janis had crawled behind him. He ended up tripping over Janis while attempting to take the pot to the sink, and the water and pot fell on to the infant. The baby was transferred from Miami County Medical Center to Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Mo., and later to the Shriners Hospital for Children in Cincinnati. She died three days after being burned. After an initial investigation by the Miami County Sheriff’s Office, no criminal charges were immediately filed against Boomer, but the case was later taken over by the Attorney General’s office. Assistant Attorney General Jacqueline Spradling, who is a Miami County resident, took over the prosecution of the case, and Boomer was arrested last November, more than two years after the incident took place. Boomer, 24, faces one count of aggravated child endangerment, which is punishable by 5 to 17 months in prison and a possible fine up to $100,000. After Harth’s ruling last week, defense attorney Mary Stephenson asked for two weeks to review the case before another court date. Harth scheduled a status conference for 11 a.m. Feb. 5. Stephenson also asked for a modification of the bond keeping Boomer in the Miami County Jail so that he could stay in his Shawnee home and attend to some traffic cases in Johnson County.
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Comments (1)
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I congratulate Judge Amy Harth for sentencing this man for the scalding. It is a good thing for the victims family that the defendant was not represented by an attorney that served on Harth's selection committee. If he had been, he would have gotten away with it. Judge Harth needs to be removed from the bench because of her corruption, as well as her favoritism toward a Paola attorney that served on her selection committee.
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February 03, 2009
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