HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The preliminary hearing in a case involving an injured child got started Tuesday, but because it started late in the day, the state didn’t get to finish presenting their case. Magistrate Judge issued a recess until September 3.
Alexis Silva was originally charged with reckless aggravated battery where he’s accused of injuring the 3-month-old. But, the state filed an amended complaint on Tuesday adding to new alternate counts. District Attorney Keith Schroeder says he added two alternate counts of abuse of child. The theory for the first abuse count includes shaking of the child. The second includes cruel or inhuman corporal punishment. Assuming the case gets all the way to a jury trial, the jury would have to decide which one of the three charges he’s guilty of, or find him not guilty of anything.
Two doctors testified Tuesday about the child’s injuries. Dr. Travis Scott, a radiologist with Hutchinson Regional Medical Center talked of what the x-rays showed, which included injury to the left leg of the child. He says there was a chip fracture on a bone near the knee. He says this type of injury brought up a red flag for possible child abuse.
Dr. Kathryn Melhorn is an expert on child abuse, in fact is a child abuse pediatrician. She examined the child at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita and discovered the leg injury, but also other injuries that included bruising on both cheeks, which she described as finger tip size. She says they were fading indicating those injuries may have happened at an earlier time. She also discovered fractured ribs and even retinal hemorrhaging in one eye. This would indicate possible shaking of the child according to testimony in court.
The crimes charged against Silva are alleged to have occurred sometime between August and October of last year.
Again, the hearing is continued till September 3. Schroeder says he has one more witness, the officer who investigated the initial report.