Hearing begins in local murder case

A Mountain Home man accused of first-degree murder returned to the Elmore County Courthouse on Friday for a preliminary hearing.

Richard R. Laubach, 20, stands accused of inflicting injuries that led to the death of his stepson, Joseph "Joey" Graham III.

The hearing will continue this Friday afternoon, at which time the county prosecutor and Laubach's defense team will present their closing arguments. The outcome of that hearing will determine if sufficient evidence exists to bind Laubach over to district court to face the felony murder charge.

Laubach is an airman first class assigned to the 366th Security Forces Squadron at Mountain Home Air Force Base. He remains in custody at the Elmore County jail after he was denied bail in April.

According to the initial criminal complaint, Laubach stands accused of assaulting the 22-month-old child at the family's residence the afternoon of March 12 with the intention of inflicting violence or great bodily harm. The child died the following morning at St. Luke's Regional Medical Center in Boise.

Joey's mother, Erin Bessey, was the first to testify at last week's hearing. Recalling the events of March 12, Bessey left the family's house around 11:45 a.m. to run some errands and to go to Boise for a doctor's appointment with a family friend. Joey stayed with Laubach at the apartment.

During her testimony, Bessey said that Joey had sustained a bump on the head where he'd struck the coffee table a few days before March 12. He also had a small bruise under his chin where he'd bumped into his crib.

According to Bessey, she had no reason to be concerned over these injuries, adding that her son was a typical, rambunctious toddler.

Around 4 p.m. that day, she called her husband, saying that she was on the way home. As they talked over the phone, she said Laubach seemed very defensive. At one point, he asked why she was asking 20 questions and "why she was sneaking up on him," Bessey said.

She then sent him a text message asking why he was "acting weird," she added.

About 10 minutes later, Laubach called her saying that Joey had hit his head and they were heading to the hospital. A few minutes later, he called again saying that her son was unresponsive and they were planning on flying him by helicopter to Boise.

Shortly after she returned to Mountain Home, Bessey and her husband drove to St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center to be with her son. During the drive, Laubach repeatedly told his wife that he was afraid that Joey was dead and was worried that his wife would hate him as a result.

Meanwhile, Laubach's version of what happened in the apartment changed during their drive. Originally telling his wife that Joey had fallen off the couch and hit his head on a coffee table, Laubach then said that he was tossing her son in the air and was unable to catch him on the way down.

After the couple arrived at St. Alphonsus, the child was then taken to the pediactric intensive care unit at St. Luke's Regional Medical Center. By 6:30 p.m., Bessey received news that her son was brain dead.

Laubach was arrested the evening of March 12 on a warrant issued in Elmore County. Originally, he was charged with a felony count of injury to a child, later amended to first-degree murder.

Joey remained on life support until the morning of March 13 "so my family could say goodbye," Bessey said. It also gave doctors a chance to harvest the child's organs to help other children.

During last week's hearing, Officer Melanie Broughton from the Mountain Home Police Department testified that Laubach's accounts of what happened the afternoon of March 12 kept changing. The officer was the first emergency responder to arrive on scene that day.

Laubach's version of what happened that afternoon changed three times, the officer said. Initially, he told the ambulance crew that Joey had jumped backwards off the couch and hit the back of his head on the coffee table.

A few minutes later, Laubach said that was he tossing the child in the air and was unable to catch him on the way down, she said. Later, he told the officer that Joey was actually crouched on the arm of the couch before he jumped off and hit the table.

During subsequent questioning in Boise, Laubach changed his story again, saying that the child fell behind the couch in the living room and that his head hit the floor, Broughton said.

While it's unusual to receive different versions of an incident from various eyewitnesses, it's very unusual to hear different versions of an incident from the same person, the officer added.

The officer also testified that Joey's injuries included signs of bruising along his ribs. During a walk though of the apartment shortly after the child was taken to the hospital, Broughton saw two pieces of paper towel tossed in a trash can that appeared to be covered in blood.

Laubach told the officer that Joey possibly cut his lip when he fell and the paper towels were used to clean the injuries. It was then that Laubach noticed that the child was unresponsive, Broughton told the prosecutor.

Detective Joseph Nelson from the Mountain Home Police Department noticed similar injuries on the child after he arrived on scene a short time after Broughton got there.

In addition to seeing blood on the child's mouth and lips, the officer also noticed a set of marks on his neck that appeared to have been made by someone's fingers, he said.

Dr. Charles O. Garrison, a forensic pathologist with the Ada County Coroner's office conducted the autopsy on Joey. During his testimony on Friday, he described finding three significant impact injuries on the head as well as bruising in the next and along the left and right ribs to the child's hips.

During the autopsy, Garrison said the child's brain showed significant swelling and bruising. Based on his four decades of experience, he added there was a "reasonable medical certainty" that death was caused by an "abusive head injury... consistent with a non-accidental injury." As a result, he listed the manner of death on the child's death certificate as a homicide.

Dr. Paul McPherson, medical director for the child abuse clinic at St. Luke's Regional Medical Center, said he had heard three different stories about how the injury to Joseph occurred -- falling off the coffee table, being tossed in the air and accidentally dropped, as well as the child falling off the couch.

Joey's injuries were much more severe than those normally caused by accidents of that type, McPherson said. The impact forces involved in generating the child's injuries were closer to those found in major auto wrecks "or other high-impact traumas," he added.

Based on the medical and family histories he obtained in addition to medical tests conducted on the child, McPherson contended that Joey's injuries were "of a non-accidental" nature "consistent with child physical abuse." He said the child suffered "great bodily harm and ultimately death from his injuries."

Pending the outcome of Friday's hearing, county prosecutor Tina Schindele will have 60 days from the date of Laubach's arraignment in district court to determine whether she will seek the death penalty in the case.