Search the site:  
National News Video
Top Jobs
Science and Technology
Headlines   |   mouseover panels to open
World
Nation
State
Local
Subject:
Recipient:
Sender:
captcha e54a5a7db9dd46fbb8d5a10f2a6b7330
Enter text seen above:
Official's training key in death investigation
3/20/2008 12:07 AM   0 comments on this story E-mail this story to a friend

By KAREN DAILY Staff writer
It's training that no one wants to think about -- investigating the death of a child.
But when Chief Deputy Coroner Darryl Ables updated his training several weeks ago, he knew the unfortunate truth was that he would use it again.
On Friday, Ables was notified that a 4-month-old, Amarie Tre'chelle Thurmond, was dead at her family's East Martintown Road home.
Around 11:30 a.m. Friday, Public Safety received a 911 phone call from the father who said his infant was not breathing.
When police arrived at the Plaza Terrace apartment, the baby's mother, Adrienne M. Bush, 24, who was ultimately charged with her daughter's death, was standing at the top of the stairs holding the baby, according to a police report.
Rigor mortis had already set in, and the baby's pupils were fixed and dilated. The officer was unable to get the baby's pulse.
Ables said he went to the house immediately after Aiken County dispatchers notified him of the death.
"You look for evidence of trauma, abuse and/or neglect," he said. "You take those findings and compare those with the autopsy results, which gives you the information to determine whether the injury had anything to do with the child's death."
With Thurmond's death, Public Safety investigators and the coroner's office logged a lot of hours.
"These cases can be very time consuming," he said. "What takes 15 to 30 minutes on television takes several days in real life."
By Tuesday, however, police had made an arrest.
"They worked diligently on this," Ables said of North Augusta Public Safety.
During the course of the investigation, investigators learned the baby had died from massive head trauma.
The mother is alleged to have punched the baby in the head multiple times, officials said.
The training Ables received supplemented his on-the-job training and, unfortunately, came at a good time.
Ables worked for four years with the Aiken County Sheriff's Office and has been with the coroner's office for nearly eight years.
He said the investigation was in-depth.
Investigators think the baby died fairly soon after the head trauma.
"You learn what to look for," Ables said. "In certain cases, a natural death may look like trauma, and you have to know the difference."
Bush was taken to the Aiken County detention center. She is charged with homicide by child abuse.
This is the first case of homicide by child abuse in North Augusta in about seven or eight years, police said, but Ables has investigated several children's natural deaths, traffic fatalities and homicides while he was at the sheriff's office under the direction of the late Sue Townsend and now working for Coroner Tim Carlton.
Contact Karen Daily at kdaily@aikenstandard.com.



Share this story:

                           


Comment on this story
Comment Title:
Enter your comment here:  
Your Name:
captcha 157e42f8693c442c8f57b2880554c22f
Enter text seen above:
 
  0 comment(s) on this story
Special Sections View all special sections
Medical Minute brought to you by ARMC
Weddings
Just for Fun
Entertainment
Brides
Britt-Brown
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Edward Britt announce the engagement of their daughter, Miss Catherine Wilkins Britt of Aiken, to Mr. Scott David Brown, also of Aiken, a son of Ms. Karen Brown of Aiken and Mr. Ch ...
8/16/2008 9:42 PM
Bookings
Obituaries
Births
Science and Technology
copyright 2008 Aiken Standard, All Rights Reserved.