Springfield man denies charges in infant assault
By
Josh O'Gorman Herald Staff
| August 05,2008
JAMES M. PATTERSON / VALLEY NEWS
Andrew Bedner Jr. of Springfield arrives in Windsor District Court in White River Junction on Monday for his arraignment on two charges of first-degree aggravated domestic assault on his infant daughter.
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — A Springfield man denied charges Monday of inflicting life-threatening injuries upon his 8-week-old daughter.
Andrew L. Bedner Jr., 28, pleaded innocent in White River Junction District Court to two counts of first-degree aggravated domestic assault. Each count carries a maximum 15-year prison sentence.
Bedner wore the same red polo shirt and blue jeans he wore to court on Friday, when he invoked the 24-hour rule allowing him to wait until Monday to enter a plea. As he did on Friday, Bedner kept his head down and did not address the court.
Bedner has been held at Southern State Correctional Facility since his arrest on Thursday, when Judge M. Kathleen Manley set Bedner's bail at $100,000. Manley also said that should Bedner make bail, he have no contact with his daughter, identified in court document by the initials "C.B."
On Monday, Bedner's attorney David Sleigh asked Manley to continue Bedner's conditions of release and asked for a hearing to establish new conditions if Bedner makes bail in the future.
State's Attorney Robert Sand asked Manley to amend Bedner's conditions of release to include no contact with Kelly Hill, 23, the mother of Bedner's daughter.
Sleigh asked that he and his client be involved in any medical decisions that might be made for C.B. in a Vermont court.
"I'm not sure if there are decisions about terminated life support. I'm not sure if it will be in New Hampshire — because that's where she is — or in Vermont because she's in the custody of (the Department for Children and Families,)" Sleigh said.
Court records state Bedner is accused of striking the then-7-week-old infant in the back of her head with his elbow on July 28. The baby was transported to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H., where a doctor found the infant had suffered multiple skull fractures, intracranial hemorrhage, unexplained bruises, retinal hemorrhages, multiple rib fractures in different stages of healing and "devastating brain injuries," according to court records.
Information on the infant's condition is not available.
Manley told Sleigh end-of-life decisions would not be made in district court, but possibly family or probate court.
Sand then told the court his office would not be involved in any decision to keep or remove C.B. from life support, and instead said Assistant Attorney General Jody Racht would handle those legal issues should they arise.
Outside the courtroom, Sleigh said he didn't know where or how end-of-life decisions would be made.
"It's uncertain to me where the decision will be made and if it's subject to judicial review," Sleigh said, refusing neither to confirm nor deny there are discussions to remove C.B. from life support or if she is even on life support.
Steve Dale, commissioner for Department for Children and Families, said because of confidentiality, he could not confirm the baby is in the custody of DCF, but did confirm that Racht handles cases for his office.
Dale said that in his three years as commissioner his department has never faced the issue of removing someone from life support.
"Because it's obviously such a rarity, we do not have a written policy for this, but this would be a major decision and not one we would take lightly," Dale said. "We would want to involve the court, the medical community, child advocates and the family before we made any decision."
Racht could not be reached for comment Monday.
"Very early on, I made a decision to have an outside attorney coordinate decisions about life support," Sand said, noting he did not want to be in charge of prosecuting Bedner and handling end-of-life decisions.
Sand said that should C.B. die after Bedner is convicted or cleared of his current charges, he believes he could still file charges related to the child's death.
Help is available for domestic violence by calling the statewide crisis line at (800) 228-7395, or on the Web at www.vtnetwork.org/
Contact Josh O'Gorman at josh.ogorman@rutlandherald.com.