Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Accused killer dad arraigned before judge; 7-week-old son died from head injuries (Ebensburg, Pennsylvania)

The accused killer dad is JUSTIN MICHAEL CHARLES.

 http://tribune-democrat.com/local/x426439633/Judge-arraigns-father

March 13, 2012

Judge arraigns father
South Fork man accused in death of 7-week-old son


Sandra K Reabuck
The Tribune-Democrat Tue Mar 13, 2012, 11:32 PM EDT

EBENSBURG — A South Fork man was arraigned Tuesday by Judge David Tulowitzki on third-degree murder, criminal homicide and related charges for allegedly shaking his infant son so violently that the infant died of head injuries.

Tulowitzki entered a not guilty plea to all charges on behalf of the defendant, 23-year-old Justin Michael Charles of Liberty Park.

County detectives also have charged Charles with five counts each of aggravated assault, simple assault and reckless endangerment and one count of child endangerment in addition to third-degree murder and criminal homicide charges.

If convicted of third-degree murder, Charles would face up to 40 years in prison.

A date was not set for Charles’ trial, but the judge advised him and his attorney, Michael Filia, an assistant public defender, of deadlines for filing various pretrial motions.

Charles is charged in the Dec. 23 death of his 7-week-old son, Justin Jr., at Pittsburgh Children’s Hospital. The infant was pronounced dead there after being removed from life-support systems