EDMOND —
A county judge has scheduled a jury trial to begin in September, nearly three years after an Edmond toddler’s death was ruled a homicide.
Oklahoma County District Judge Glenn Jones granted the defendant’s request and continued the trial to 9 a.m. Sept. 10 with the case set on the jury call docket on Sept. 7, according to court records. Proceedings previously were scheduled to begin Aug. 27.
A jury call docket is when a client and their attorney meet with the judge and a prosecutor to announce a desire to proceed to trial or to plead guilty.
On Oct. 29, 2009, county prosecutors filed first-degree murder and child neglect charges against Rico Antwoine Berry, 27, who entered a plea of not guilty in court, and has maintained through his attorneys that he did not cause the death of Jolen Babakhani, 2.
The state medical examiner ruled Jolen’s death was a homicide, resulting from head trauma, causing a subdural hematoma. A subdural hematoma is a type of blood clot or clots that often result from a skull fracture.
In a previous report, public defender Mark McCormick said he believes Berry is innocent based on the evidence presented to that point and his statements to his defense team. McCormick said he anticipates evidence presented at trial will prove his client’s innocence.
On Oct. 13, 2009, Edmond officers responded to 400 E. Danforth Road, Apt. 211, in reference to a 2-year-old boy not breathing and being transported to The Children’s Hospital at OU Medical Center.
Police said medical personnel attending to Jolen did not believe based on the extensive bruising and damage to the toddler’s head that the injuries could have been caused accidentally. At the hospital, it was learned the toddler did not have any type of brain activity. The next day Jolen was pronounced dead.
The toddler lived at the apartment with his mother, police said. Berry, who previously lived in Oklahoma City, had just moved in the previous day.
marks@edmondsun.com | 341-2121, ext. 108
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