Custodial dad accused of drowning toddlers details "tragic events"; why was this man allowed to have custody of these kids? (Detroit, Michigan)

We've been following the case of custodial daddy STEVEN LYN NICHOLSON for a while. The true "tragic event" is why this father with a history of child abuse, domestic violence, and substance abuse was allowed to attain and retain custody. Of course, the trial won't answer that question, will it?

http://www.thenewsherald.com/articles/2011/04/23/news/doc4db1e5898d682535125982.txt?viewmode=fullstory

DETROIT: Father accused of drowning toddlers details tragic events (with audio)Published: Saturday, April 23, 2011

By Peter Jurich

DETROIT — A video presented in court Thursday shows a man accused of drowning his two toddlers telling police what happened that night in October.

Police showed the interrogation of Steven Lyn Nicholson, 27, of Allen Park, which was recorded hours after the children were found dead in his apartment.

“I want to die,” Nicholson says in the video. “I don’t care no more.”

Nicholson is charged in the Oct. 19 deaths of his children, Ella Stafford, 15 months, and Johnathon Sanderlin, 13 months, both of whom lived with him. The children had different mothers.

In addition to drowning, their bodies were found to be have been scalded by hot water.

Nicholson is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, punishable by life in prison without parole; two counts of felony murder, punishable by life in prison; and two counts of first-degree child abuse, punishable by a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.

The mothers of the children and the chief medical examiners of Wayne and Oakland counties are among those who have testified in Wayne County Circuit Court over the past two weeks about the deaths of the toddlers.

The bench trial will begin its third week of proceedings at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow before Judge Vera Massey-Jones.

In the video, Nicholson says he put the children to bed at about 8:30 or 9 p.m. Oct. 18 and then went in his bedroom to watch television, which he turned up loudly.

“I’m slightly deaf,” he says.

He says he shut his bedroom door because, otherwise, the children would hear the television and have a hard time sleeping.

He says he usually can hear them get up in the night because he keeps his door open when he is not watching television.

He says he fell asleep that night with the door closed.

Earlier testimony from family and medical examiners has raised questions as to whether the two toddlers — both just over 1 year old — had the mobility, strength and motor skills to climb out of their cribs in the middle of the night, walk to the bathroom, shut the door, climb in the tub and turn on the hot water.

In the video, Nicholson says they not only had the ability, but a habit of doing those things.

He says that whenever he went into the bathroom, they would “play with the curtain and turn on that hot water.”

He says the children also would shut the bathroom door on themselves.

“They go in the room … they shut the door and they start crying,” Nicholson says. “They want out.”

He says his children were just learning how to get out of their cribs. He says he went in their bedroom days before and saw Ella climbing out of her crib.

In the video, Nicholson also talks about the children’s mothers.

He says he and Tayler Stafford, Ella’s mother, are trying to work out some problems, but he is critical of Sarah McGee, Johnathon’s mother.

“We tried to work things out and be a family,” he says of Stafford in the video. “I’m trying to get her to understand the whole family thing. This is going to crush her.”

Stafford, who testified during the first week of the trial, said she saw Nicholson abuse and neglect Johnathon.

Stafford said the boy was crying so much one day that Nicholson set him down on a couch and covered him with pillows.

McGee, 28, testified Tuesday that she went to Allen Park police in September to report abuse of Johnathon by Nicholson.

McGee said that after Johnathon’s birth, she left him in the care of her sister in Cadillac, where she herself later moved. The infant stayed there for seven months while McGee and Nicholson negotiated custody.

According to McGee, Nicholson never visited his son in Cadillac.

Custody was given to Nicholson in May. McGee said that, once granted custody, Nicholson would not allow her to see Johnathon.


She did not see her son between May and September, when she received a MySpace correspondence email from Ella’s mother.

“I had received an email from Tayler Stafford stating that Johnathon was being abused and neglected,” McGee said. “I came straight down from Cadillac, straight to the Allen Park Police Department.”

McGee said she and an officer went to Nicholson’s apartment, but he was not home.

They went again the next weekend and found Nicholson there. The officer told McGee not to communicate with Nicholson and escorted her to Johnathon’s bedroom.

“I wanted to just kind of look over his body,” McGee said. “Police did not allow me to remove any of his clothing.”

Of the allowed five-minute visitation, McGee said: “I went out feeling the same way when I came in. I didn’t know if he was safe or not.”

Other witnesses Tuesday included neighbors of Nicholson at Valley Springs Apartments, 11330 Old Goddard Road.

Julie Peters and Ashley Buchanan both said that at about 8:30 to 8:45 p.m. Oct. 18, the night before the toddlers’ deaths, they heard water begin running.

Peters said it came from Nicholson’s apartment. Buchanan could not determine whether it came from the apartment above or below her.

Both said they heard the water running for a long time.

“I remember it throughout the night,” Peters said.

She said she noticed the sound three or four times during the night and thought it odd that the water was still running.

Buchanan said she heard it until she went to sleep at midnight.

They also testified about Nicholson’s treatment of his children.

Peters, who lives two floors above Nicholson, said she noticed Nicholson was “always rushing” his children.

“The boy wasn’t walking yet completely, but he was always pulling them by the arm,” Peters said. “He would pick them up like a backpack and just fling them over … in a very uncaring way. In an abusive way, in my opinion.”

Peters’ testimony corroborated what the court heard the previous week from other witnesses, including Ella’s mother, who testified to neglect or abuse of the children by Nicholson.

Buchanan’s testimony was different. She said she saw Nicholson with his children two or three times a week.

“He seemed to me like a good father because I’ve never seen anyone helping him,” Buchanan said.

Both witnesses recalled an incident during which Nicholson left his children in his car.

Peters said she heard the children screaming in the vehicle for about 10 minutes. Buchanan said she saw Nicholson return to the car with snacks and juice for them.

The court also heard testimony from the Allen Park police officers who were first to respond after a 911 call was made.

Patrol Officers Kevin Gersky and Adam Begley are partners. They were dispatched to the apartment complex on a report that two babies had drowned.

Gersky said he entered the complex first and the humidity struck him as odd.

The officers found Nicholson in a corner of his bedroom. The deceased toddlers were laid in front of him.

“I got close enough to the subject to assist him to his feet,” Gersky said. “He was upset. I placed him in handcuffs and took him out to the car. I got him out of the way so the Fire Department could assist the children.”

Gersky asked Nicholson what had happened. He said Nicholson told him he had put the children to bed at 8:30 p.m. and went to bed himself at 10.

Nicholson also said he woke up at 2 a.m. to find his children dead in the bathroom.

“He stated he located his daughter facedown lying next to the sink,” Gersky said. “He located his son … facedown lying in the tub.”

“He said that he tried CPR on them but was unsuccessful,” Begley said.

Testimony ended Tuesday with Allen Park Firefighter Michael Stetz, who was among six firefighters and paramedics who arrived moments after the police.

Stetz continued his testimony Wednesday morning, followed by Allen Park police Sgt. Michael Hillock, who was the third officer to arrive.

Hillock described the bathroom where the children were found.

“There basically looked like there had been a fight in there,” he said. “It just looked torn up.”

Hillock said he saw toilet paper, a trash can and a microwavable popcorn bag in the tub. On the floor were towels, toilet paper and a broken towel rack.

Hillock said the tub was nearly full of water and was about four inches from overflowing.

Allen Park police Detective Jeffery Miller testified after Hillock. He said he became familiar with Nicholson’s voice during his investigation.

Prosecuting attorney Carin Goldfarb played the interactions between Nicholson and 911 dispatch for Miller. Nicholson appeared to be having difficulty reaching a dispatcher and tried calling four times between 2:09 and 2:16 a.m.

A dispatcher tried calling back twice.

At 2:18 a.m., a connection finally was made and Nicholson was put through to Allen Park police.

“My kids got out of the bed,” Nicholson said to the dispatch officer in the audio recording. “They got into the bathroom. I was sleeping.

“They’re babies. I’m the father. I take care of them all the time.”

Miller said he spoke to Nicholson when he arrived.

“He was a little bit upset,” Miller said. “I didn’t believe he was totally shaken.”

Dr. L.J. Dragovich, Oakland County’s chief medical examiner for 20 years, testified Thursday.

Dragovich’s expertise, according to Nicholson’s attorney, William Winters, was sought as a second opinion as to the manner of the children’s deaths.

Dragovich said he had reviewed autopsy reports and microscope slides taken by Wayne County’s medical examiner, Dr. Carl Schmidt. He also said he reviewed Schmidt’s testimony from a Nov. 21 preliminary examination of the evidence against Nicholson and looked at photos from the Michigan State Police.

Dragovich agreed with Schmidt that the toddlers drowned, but said he found no evidence that the deaths were deliberate.

He said one could not differentiate between the lungs of a homicide drowning victim and the lungs of an accidental drowning victim.

Dragovich did not see any microscope slides from Schmidt’s autopsy report regarding the state of the children’s mouth or throat tissues. Therefore, he said, he could not ascertain whether they drowned in scalding water.

He said that, if they did, “those injuries would be pretty much the same as those injuries to the outside.”

The “outside” injuries included severe burns to the bodies of both children.

Schmidt testified last week that he saw no injuries to the mouths or throats of the two children.

Unlike Schmidt, Dragovich said he believes Johnathon died on his stomach.

He said it is possible that Johnathon’s back was spared because it was above water. His chin was spared because there was so much debris in the tub that some of it might have come in contact with his face.

Dragovich said it’s possible that Johnathon was able to get into the tub, but could not get out due to panic or wet clothing.

“If a child at that age is confused or startled by something strange happening in that environment, then they are not going to react in the organized fashion we would assume,” he said.

Goldfarb presented a series of photos to the court Thursday and Miller identified them.

The presentation included pictures of Johnathon and Ella as they were found by police on the night of their deaths and of the apartment the same night.