Carson City couple to be tried in death of infant son

CARSON CITY -- A Carson City couple have been ordered to stand trial on second-degree murder charges in the death of their 7-month-old son.

Justice Court Judge John Tatro ruled Friday there was sufficient evidence to bind over Paul and Aurora Anderson to Carson City District Court.

The action came after Dr. Katherine Raven, a Washoe County pathologist who has performed more than 3,000 autopsies, called their son's skull fracture, "the most severe I've ever seen."

After their son, Tyrone, was found dead April 19, 2006, in the couple's apartment, Paul Anderson told investigators he found the boy unresponsive in his crib.

The couple told detectives Tyrone had fallen off a bed several feet onto a carpeted floor the previous evening. Both parents denied harming the child.

But Raven testified during a preliminary hearing Friday that the fall couldn't have caused the injury.

"We don't see these types of fractures in day-to-day home accidents," she said.

"A number of babies fall off beds, and they don't end up in the medical examiner's office."

Raven described the injury as a 4-inch lateral fracture caused by "blunt force trauma inflicted by another person."

"You could actually see between the fracture into the cavity below," Raven testified. "There was no explanation for this type of injury."

District Attorney Neil Rombardo said while investigators don't know what caused the injury, they know what didn't.

"It wasn't from falling off a bed. It was blunt force trauma inflicted by another person," the prosecutor said. "This child was murdered by one of these defendants."

The Andersons, who are being held in jail without bail, are scheduled to appear May 22 in district court.

Both are charged with second-degree murder resulting from neglect and child neglect resulting in substantial bodily harm.