Dad pleads not guilty in murder of infant son (Balsam Lake, Wisconsin)

Dad is identified as KENNETH W. LARSON.

http://www.twincities.com/crime/ci_22474460/wisconsin-father-pleads-not-guilty-death-infant-son

Wisconsin father pleads not guilty in death of infant son

Pioneer Press

Posted: 01/29/2013 12:01:00 AM CST January 30, 2013 3:41 AM GMT

Updated: 01/29/2013 09:41:12 PM CST

POLK COUNTY, WIS.

Man pleads not guilty in son's death

A Wisconsin man convicted of causing severe injuries to his infant son has pleaded not guilty to a first-degree reckless homicide charge that was filed after the boy died.

Kenneth W. Larson, 30, entered the plea Monday, Jan. 28, in Polk County Circuit Court. He was being held in the Polk County Jail, officials said Tuesday.

Larson was released in October from Oshkosh Correctional Institution in Oshkosh, Wis., having been sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to child abuse recklessly causing great bodily harm in the death of his son.

The boy was 1 month old when his mother took him to a hospital emergency room in September 2007 with injuries that included a severe brain injury, according to the criminal complaint.

In an interview with police, Larson said his son had rolled off a bed in Balsam Lake, Wis., striking his head and cheek, and claimed that he did not harm the boy, the complaint states.

The child died in November 2011, the result of complications from the brain injury, and a medical examiner determined the death could be classified as a homicide.

Larson's cash bond is set at $25,000.

The next court hearing in the case is a pre-trial conference scheduled for March 1.

If convicted, Larson faces a sentence of up to 60 years.

-- Andy Rathbun