Dad pleads not guilty in death of 8-month-old son (Cathage, Missouri)

We've posted on dad EDDIE SALAZAR SR. before. He is now pleading not guilty to 2nd-degree murder in the death of his 8-month-old son. You might remember this case--this is the one where Daddy claimed that "masked intruders" broke into his home and abducted the baby--who was later found dead in a nearby river. Touching good story, but it turns out there wasn't an ounce of truth in it.

http://www.carthagepress.com/newsnow/x1664780975/Father-pleads-not-guilty-in-baby-s-death

Father pleads not guilty in baby’s death
By John Hacker
Carthage Press
Posted Mar 29, 2010 @ 12:54 PM

CARTHAGE, Mo. — Eddie Salazar Sr., the Carthage man accused of killing his 8-month-old son, pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in Jasper County Circuit Court on Monday.

Salazar Sr. was arraigned in front of Jasper County Circuit Court Judge Gayle Crane on Friday on a charge that accuses him of killing Eddie Salazar Jr. on Feb. 4.

Salazar Sr., who is being held without bond in the Jasper County Jail in Carthage, waived the reading of charges in his arraignment on Monday, is scheduled to appear before Crane at 9 a.m. April 19 for “pre-trial motions or change of plea,” according to the docket record filed on Case.net, the on-line Jasper County Court records system.

Salazar Sr. waived his right to a preliminary hearing on March 17 and was bound over for trial.

Police say he called 9-1-1 and told authorities that two men broke into his home, knocked him unconscious and took the child from the home late on Feb. 4.

The call sparked an intense two-day search for the missing child, including an Amber Alert that police sent out to the public.

After about 36 hours, police said they determined Salazar was lying about the masked intruders.
Searchers found the baby’s body floating in the Spring River east of Carthage at about 3:30 p.m. Feb. 6. An autopsy determined the baby died from a skull fracture but they have not revealed how the baby was killed.