Attorney: Brother suspected

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Attorney: Brother suspected
By BRYAN CORBIN
Daily Journal news editor
bcorbin@thejournlanet.com

Feb. 20, 2003

The 7-year-old brother of a 7-week-old homicide victim has a severe developmental disability. That leads the father’s attorney to suspect the brother dropped Jackson Diddock, causing his fatal head injury.

“At this point, that seems to be the only reasonable explanation,” said Richard Mann, attorney for the father. “I have not heard any official say anything different on that.”

Jackson was found dead Feb. 11 in his mother’s New Whiteland home. The coroner ruled the cause of death was blunt-force trauma and the manner of death was a homicide, though an accidental or intentional homicide hasn’t been determined. Police are exploring the theory that the head injury was caused by the child being dropped.

Curtis Diddock, the father, told police he put his children down for a nap and took a nap himself, and when he awoke, he found Jackson lifeless on the floor. The baby had been sleeping in a swing in the kitchen-dining area but had been inexplicably moved to the bedroom and had suffered head injuries. The father tried to revive him and called 911, but the baby was pronounced dead.

Police say they are satisfied with Diddock’s statement. The baby’s mother, Stephanie VanBree, was at work, and her two older daughters were at school. With no signs of an intruder, the only other people in the house at the time were Diddock’s other two sons, ages 7 and 2.

The 7-year-old, a half brother of Jackson, suffers from a developmental disability.

“The 7-year-old has the mental equivalent of about an 18-month-old,” Mann said. “He doesn’t speak in sentences; he speaks like an 18-month-old. He has many of the attributes of an autistic child, but it’s not autism. He has very many autistic tendencies.”

Asked if the parents had previously observed any outbursts or violence by the 7-year-old toward the baby, Mann said they had not.

“The 7-year-old’s schoolteachers were interviewed by the authorities, and they agree he is not a violent child,” Mann said. “This is a total surprise to everybody.”

Curtis Diddock has cooperated with police. Detectives interviewed him twice, and he did not request his attorney.

New Whiteland police detective David Glaze said he has not yet received any medical records confirming the 7-year-old boy’s condition.

He also was unwilling to exclude others beyond the boy as suspects.

“I haven’t cleared anybody and I’m not looking at anybody,” Glaze said. “I have no facts on it.”

No one has been arrested or charged in the death, and police are still investigating.

Mann agreed that if the 7-year-old were to be found responsible, the boy cannot be charged in Juvenile Court.

“In order to be criminally liable, you have to have sufficient mental competency to understand what you’re doing,” Mann said.

Instead, the boy could be designated a Child in Need of Services, or CHINS, which would allow the judge to order mental health evaluation and treatment and review custody.

“Since he doesn’t have the capacity to commit a crime, CHINS would be the only way the state could intervene,” Mann said. “As I understand it, the parents have him seen by professionals, and he is in an appropriate educational setting. I don’t know what services could be offered (by the court) that his parents aren’t already giving him.”

Curtis Diddock and his girlfriend, Stephanie VanBree, had two children together, Jackson and the 2-year-old. Diddock’s 7-year-old son was from a previous relationship.

The boy’s biological mother has custody, but Diddock has regular visitation and baby-sits when the mother is working. The 7-year-old was out sick from school Feb. 11, which explains why Diddock had him at VanBree’s residence. Diddock, a restaurant manager, also is the full-time caregiver for his elderly grandmother, Mann said.

Diddock and VanBree have endured the triple ordeal of losing their 7-week-old son Jackson, being investigated by police and having the 7-year-old boy emerge as a suspect.

“I’ve seen them both. They almost seem like they’re in a state of shock,” Mann said of the couple. “When they finally have a few minutes to sit down, it will hit them harder.”

Curtis Diddock called police immediately when he found his son and was interviewed at length, Mann said.

“He knows the police have to do that stuff. I don’t think he sees himself as a real suspect. He doesn’t seem angry about the fact that police are doing what they’re doing,” Mann said.

“The problem with this whole case is, if in fact it is the 7-year-old, how do you put an end to it where people are satisfied with the end?”

And because of his developmental disabilities, the 7-year-old might never comprehend the loss of his infant brother, even when he is older, Mann said.

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