Dad paroled for 1986 murder of 3-month-old son, despite kidnapping hoax (Logan, Utah)

Dad STEVEN RAY JAMES will be paroled this week for the murder of his 3-month-old son back in 1986. On one level, he a pretty typical killer father--Daddy got "frustrated" over the crying baby, so he shook the infant till he stopped (e.g. the baby's brain became so damaged that he became "unresponsive"). But this dad went one step further. Instead of calling 911, he dumped the baby in a marshland and cooked up an elaborate kidnapping story.

I can assure you that moms who have committed similar crimes--moms who have household names--would not be granted similar consideration by the parole boards. For better or for worse, we're always more shocked as a culture when moms commit crimes like this than dads. You probably won't even see this story in the national news. But if this had been a mother, it would be all over Nancy Grace and CNN with non-stop outrage.

http://news.hjnews.com/news/local_news/article_cdfb72b2-df28-11df-86dc-001cc4c03286.html

Parole of Steven Ray James closes book on 1986 child killing

Posted: Sunday, October 24, 2010 1:30 am Updated: 10:38 am, Sun Oct 24, 2010.

By Matthew K. Jensen

After 24 years behind bars for the death of his 3-month-old son, former Logan resident Steven Ray James will be paroled from the Utah State Prison on Tuesday.

Now 58, James was arrested and charged with murder in 1986 after police suspected he killed his child of the same name and fabricated an elaborate kidnapping hoax to cover it up.

James’ story begins the morning of Aug. 26, 1986, when, in a fit of frustration, he unintentionally shook his child to death after trying for two hours to placate the screaming infant.

In a later confession, he told a judge, “I wasn’t trying to hurt my son ... I love my son. I was shaking him out of frustration.”

But the damage was done. James said he put his son down and walked away to eat a bowl of cereal. When he checked on him again, the child was dead.

“He wasn’t moving,” said James. “He was just sitting there with bubbles coming out of his nose. He wasn’t breathing.”

In 1993, James told a Salt Lake City judge he believed his wife would react better if she thought her son was kidnapped rather than learning he was dead.

So in a charade that lasted nearly seven weeks, the boy’s father steered the public into a nationwide search for the child, appearing in press conferences, distributing missing person posters, and making phone calls in a search center set up in a Logan church basement.

Meanwhile, police investigators had their own hunch as to what happened to the son and on Sept. 17, called James’ version of what happened “illogical.” Police said the father twice refused to take a polygraph test on grounds that he failed a similar test as a youth for a petty theft incident that landed him in reform school.

The search continued until Oct. 11, when two duck hunters discovered a mysterious bundle in the murky waters north of Cutler Marsh about 4 miles west of Logan, just 50 feet from Valley View Highway. The men found a tiny deteriorating body wrapped in a mattress cover, weighted with rocks and tied with a red extension cord.

The child inside was wrapped in the same blanket James told police went missing with his son, and pieces of clothing on the body matched the description James gave investigators.

On Oct. 23, the child’s body was positively identified as 3-month-old Steven Roy James. At 9:20 that evening, police arrested James on suspicion of homicide, saying the last piece of evidence they needed was an identification on the infant’s body.

According to an affidavit accompanying the arrest warrant, paint spatters on the mattress cover wrapped around the body matched spatters found on bedding material used as a paint drop cloth police determined to be James’. Police said the mattress cover came from James’ former home in Preston.

James was arraigned on the charge Oct. 27 and maintained he was innocent even after being convicted of capital murder by a Salt Lake City jury in 1989. The investigation and subsequent legal hearings cost taxpayers $243,000.

The case took a turn in 1991 when the state’s Supreme Court overturned the district court’s finding after an appeal and granted James a retrial. The state appointed public defenders Barbara Lachmar and Arden Lauritzen to represent him but James surprised the court in July 1993, confessing he shook the child to death and threw his body into a marsh.

“I’m tired of living a lie,” he said in Salt Lake’s 3rd District Court on July 19, 1993. “I want this to end and for life to get on for everybody.”

James said he put the baby’s body in its car seat and went to a local market to buy buttermilk so he could be seen around town the morning of his son’s death. He then drove the infant west on 200 North and discarded the body, wrapping the child in a mattress cover, weighting it with rocks and tying the bundle with an electrical cord. He pleaded guilty to one count of manslaughter and one count of tampering with evidence — both second-degree felonies.

He was sentenced two months later to serve two one- to 15-year prison terms and ordered to pay a fine of $180,000.

Last week, Utah Department of Corrections spokesperson Jim Hatch said James served even longer than the parole board initially suggested.

“The longest period of jurisdiction we could have would be 30 years,” said Hatch. “His guidelines suggested he serve only eight years so he’s served three times longer. The reason he was kept so much longer is that this was such a terrible crime where he took the life of his own son.”

Hatch said James has exhibited good behavior during his time behind bars and has shown sincere remorse for his actions.

“Since he’s been incarcerated, especially in more recent years, he’s really been a model inmate,” he said. “He earned his high school diploma and college degree, he has worked and done all the programming available to him at the prison, he’s accepted responsibility for his crime and expressed extreme remorse.”

James told the board two years ago he plans to move in with his fiancé and would like to work in production management or restaurant management. Hatch said James also has plans to work in addiction recovery therapy.

“He has a very good support system and good release plans,” added Hatch. “All those mitigating factors came into the board’s consideration in deciding to grant this parole date.”

Lachmar, now a deputy Cache County attorney, said James’ sentence was appropriate due to his confession.

“By the time I got the case, Mr. James had had a long time to think about things and he decided to come out with the truth,” she said. “Everything sort of fell in place after that, and the sentence he got I think was appropriate.”

The Herald Journal requested an interview with James last week. A Department of Corrections spokesman said James discussed the request with his case worker and declined to speak with reporters.

Timeline:

Aug. 26, 1986: James reports son missing. Calls from pay phone saying he left child in his car for less than 10 minutes, returned and the boy was gone.

Aug. 27, 1986: Four local law enforcement agencies and FBI investigate the case. 200 leads received.

Aug. 28, 1986: Victim’s grandparents create reward trust fund. Nationwide search underway.

Sept. 17, 1986: In a meeting with James, police say his story is “illogical.” James refuses to take polygraph test.

Oct. 11, 1986: Duck hunters find child’s body in marshes of Bear River, 4 miles west of Logan.

Oct. 23, 1986: Body identified as infant James. James arrested on suspicion of homicide.

Oct. 24, 1986: Police say drop cloth used to wrap baby’s body came from James’ home.

May 11,1989: Jury finds James guilty of first-degree murder.

Oct. 15, 1991: Utah Supreme Court reverses ruling on appeal, saying prosecution witness lied during lower court trial.

March 29, 1993: Local attorneys Barbara Lachmar and Arden Lauritzen are appointed to defend James in retrial.

July 19, 1993: Before new trial, James confesses in court to shaking his son to death and throwing the body into the water.

Sept. 8, 1993: James is sentenced to two one- to 15-year consecutive prison terms after pleading guilty to manslaughter and tampering with evidence — both second-degree felonies.

Oct. 5, 2004: State parole board conducts hearing for James’ release.

Oct. 26, 2010: James scheduled to be paroled from custody.