Published: June 05, 2008 09:30 am      

Trial takes a twist with child’s testimony

Jury hears taped phone call between defendants

The burns on the foot of 2-year-old murder victim Callie Robinson have been said to be the result of an electrical shock, according to statements given by Callie’s mother, Verona “V.J.” Brinegar, 24, and boyfriend Ronald Crabtree Jr., 27, both charged with Callie’s death Aug. 9, 2007.

However, the testimony Wednesday from one of Crabtree’s ex-girlfriends, along with a testimony from her 8-year-old son, was perhaps the biggest surprise in the continuing trial in Madison Circuit Court.

One day while Crabtree was living in the home of Crystal Johnson, her son Nathaniel, 8, came to her with a burn on his hand and said he had been shocked, Johnson testified.

After questioning Crabtree about the wound, she said he told her that Nathaniel had been playing around a stereo that was in the process of being prepared and there were several wires sticking out. Johnson also noted that the electrical breaker box had been turned off earlier that day.

Johnson was followed by testimony from Nathaniel.

“Ronnie (Crabtree Jr.) would pretend I was his teddy bear,” he said. “I was under a pillow. I couldn’t breathe and I was struggling to get out. I tried kicking and everything.”

The official cause of Callie’s death was ruled as asphyxiation by suffocation.

Dr. Tanya Wiese, an employee of Kentucky Pulmonary Associates, was sought to testify by Crabtree’s defense attorneys Wes and Valetta Browne, and was paid by the state for her critique of the autopsy results performed and released by Kentucky Deputy Medical Examiner Dr. Cristin Rolf. Wiese said Wednesday she was paid $250 an hour for her review of the reports and $500 an hour for her testimony in court.

She voiced several concerns in Rolf’s report. The final autopsy ruled that Callie’s death was a result of asphyxia by suffocation, but Wiese said there were many possibilities when it came to the cause of the child’s death.

Wiese’s theory was that Callie could have aspirated (which means the entry of secretions or foreign material into the trachea and lungs) being that it earlier was stated that Callie had been given something to drink before being laid down for a nap. Another cause of the death could have been a seizure, she said.

Some side effects of a seizure could be bruising and biting of the tongue and lips, she said.

However, later in Wiese’s testimony, she said that there usually is no evidence of a seizure.

“You can’t prove a seizure unless you saw it,” she said.

Crabtree’s defense also agrees that more tests should have been performed during the autopsy.

Wes Browne pointed out that wounds on Callie’s face were not tested for carpet fibers (that would have suggested that her face may have been pushed into the carpet causing suffocation) nor was the sleeping bag where Callie was found not breathing.

Another highlight of Wednesday’s court proceedings was hearing a taped phone conversation between Brinegar and Crabtree that took place later in the day on Aug. 9, 2007. This evidence was brought forth by Detective Sgt. Rodney Richardson of the Richmond Police Department.

Brinegar already was in the custody of Richmond police and Crabtree was talking on a cell phone while driving out of Madison County.

“I love you, but you left me at the wrong time,” Brinegar said. “Callie’s dead. I don’t know if I’m going to be able to walk the streets again because they’re blaming me for hurting my baby. They say she’s been beat.”

“You know I would never lay a hand on you, that baby or anybody,” Crabtree said in the telephone conversation.

“I don’t understand why you’re running if you done nothing wrong,” Brinegar said. “Why did you run?”

“Because of child support,” Crabtree replied.

He said he thought that it would just be a matter of days before he was arrested for owing back child support payments.

“They’re saying that the burns on her feet are from cigarettes, and I thought it was where Wade (Brinegar’s 4-year-old son) shocked her,” Brinegar told Crabtree.

Brinegar previously had said that she personally witnessed Wade holding Callie’s feet to the socket.

The burns on Callie’s foot led to the testimony Monday from Richmond Codes Enforcement Director Joe Lillis, who has served as an electrical contractor for 40 years.

Lillis tested the outlet and said it was generating about 120 volts, which would cause a slight impact, but that actual burning does not occur until the voltages reaches 220 volts or higher.

The recorded conversation continued, and Brinegar insisted she did not know how Callie was left with the burns, blisters, scrapes and bruises on various parts of her body.

“Ronnie, I love you, but I have to figure out what happened to my baby,” she said.

While on the phone, Crabtree told police, who were listening in on the call, that he wanted a certain officer to arrest him.

He first requested that it be Danny McGuire from the Madison County Sheriff’s Department, but Richardson was unable to get in contact with him.

Crabtree then requested Richmond Police Detective Rodney Tudor, who was able to apprehend him when he surrendered at 284 Blue Lick Road, which is the home of his aunt and uncle.

His surrendering was part of a negotiation, however, that involved his request for a television in his jail cell, according to Commonwealth's Attorney David Smith.

He threatened to continue running from police if they did not meet his demands, Smith said.

“Don’t try to chase me,” Crabtree said sternly to police during the phone conversation.

“We’re not going to harm you in any way. All we want you to do is turn yourself in,” Richardson said.

Crabtree was later brought back to the Richmond Police Department for questioning.

Jurors were shown the interview between Crabtree, Tudor and lead investigator Richmond Police Detective Eric Long.

“They’re wanting to charge you with the death of this baby,” Tudor said.

“How are they going to charge me with that?” Crabtree replied.

Tudor said when Crabtree fled the scene after the 911 call was made, that put more focus on him as a suspect.

Still claiming that he was wanted for back child support pay, Tudor told him, “Whether you were scared or not, does that not look odd to you?”

“There was nothing for me to be worried about because I did nothing,” Crabtree said. “I kept thinking ‘Damn. Any day now they’re going to catch me.'”

“You were worried about six months in jail when (Callie) was gasping her last breath?” Tudor asked.

When asked about the child’s long list of injuries, he told police that bruises on the inside of her ear were the result of Callie constantly tugging at her ears.

“She pulls them as hard as she can,” he said.

As for other bruises and scratches on her body, Crabtree said Callie was able to crawl between the box springs and mattress while he and V.J. were asleep in the bed and that every time he tried to potty train her, she would throw herself off the toilet.

When asked about Callie’s severe diaper rash, his response was, “I don’t change diapers. I put her on the toilet.”

Crabtree also stated during the interview that Wade and Callie would awake at about 4 or 5 a.m.

He said he woke up at about 7:30 a.m. to go to work and that V.J. woke up some time between 10 and 11 a.m.

Crabtree also said he had never witnessed V.J. acting abusive toward the children.

As for the 12 bruises on Callie’s scalp noted in Rolf’s final autopsy report, Crabtree said it was a result of Wade throwing a large, wooden Crayola crayon at her.

“I’ve never struck her head,” he said.

“If (Wade) whacked her in the head once a day, to be a good parent, wouldn’t you get rid of it if you have another child that is causing her harm?” Long asked.

Toward the end of the interview with Crabtree, Long gave him some cold, hard facts.

“She’s dead,” Long said. “She ain’t coming back. When that little girl woke up that morning, she didn’t have a choice as to what was going to happen to her. When mothers, fathers, grandmothers and grandfather’s see these pictures, what do you think they’re going to think? If you think you’re going to go in front of a jury, they’re going to send your butt up a river.”

The trial will continue tomorrow in Madison Circuit Court beginning at 1 p.m. and closing arguments are scheduled for Friday.

Ronica Shannon can be reached at rshannon@richmondregister.com or 623-1669, Ext. 234.