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February 12, 2012

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Man accused in infant’s death denies alleged beating

Examiner says child suffered from burns, brain injuries

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Justin M. Bowen

Rayshaun Coleman appears in Henderson Justice Court on Nov. 12 to face charges of first-degree murder, child abuse and neglect in the death of an infant earlier this year. The Clark County medical examiner testified the baby suffered from traumatic brain injuries.

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Thursday, Nov. 12, 2009 | 6:51 p.m.

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Rayshaun T. Coleman

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Infant death

A man accused of killing an infant told police that someone else must have entered the home earlier this year and brutally beat and burned the baby while the boy was sleeping, Henderson Police officers testified Thursday during a hearing in Henderson Justice Court.

During the preliminary hearing for Rayshaun Coleman, 20, officers testified there were discrepancies in his story and he didn’t immediately call 911.

Coleman is charged with first-degree murder, child abuse and neglect. The infant was found in a house in the 1900 block of Dunnam Street, near Pabco and Sunset Roads, after officers responded to the home about 11 p.m. on March 8.

At Thursday's hearing, a Clark County medical examiner testified the baby died from traumatic brain injuries, including two fractures on the right side of the skull. The baby was five weeks, four days old.

The mother of the infant, 21-year-old Christal Hilburn-Gaynor, has been charged with child abuse and neglect after leaving the infant in Coleman’s care while she was serving weekends at the Henderson Detention Center on domestic violence and battery charges.

Prosecutor Vicki Monroe said Hilburn-Gaynor also went to Disneyland with her 5-year-old son and left the infant with Coleman for a weekend.

The baby was taken to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. The Clark County Coroner’s Office identified the infant as Tristin Michaels.

Clark County Medical Examiner Alane Olson testified today that Tristin had several fractured ribs, some of which were injuries suffered seven to 10 days before his death. Other injuries were older wounds beginning to heal, she said.

The autopsy also revealed that Tristin was malnourished and smaller than his original birth measurements. She said the infant had been starved and was unable to cry out for food because of the brain injuries he suffered.

Olson said she also noticed a red discoloration during the autopsy and later discovered Tristin had suffered second-degree burns. She said the burns occurred around the same time as his death.

“I did not see evidence that the body reacted to that injury to heal,” Olson said.

She said 36 percent of the baby's body was covered with burns, starting at his front, wrapping around his torso area to his back.

Olson said she ruled the death a homicide because the boy died as a result of inflicted head injuries.

Coleman’s attorney, David Schieck, asked Olson if Tristin’s fractured ribs could have been caused by an untrained person performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Olson said ribs sometimes break during CPR, but only in the front, whereas Tristin’s fractures were in the front and back.

Henderson Police Officer Lisa Zahnow testified that her partner performed CPR on the infant when they arrived at the home and noticed the baby had stopped breathing.

She said Coleman was in the house with a 5-year-old boy waiting for police to arrive. Coleman identified himself under a false name, Zahnow said.

“When we arrived he (Coleman) led us to the master bedroom and the baby was on the floor not breathing with one eye open,” Zahnow said. “There were red blotches all over the baby’s body.”

Zahnow testified she believed the baby might have come into contact with a chemical that caused the red blotches on his body. Zahnow said Coleman told her he had fallen asleep with the baby on his chest and woke up to find Tristin not breathing.

She said Coleman told her someone must have come into the bedroom while he was sleeping and killed the baby.

Athena Raney, a Henderson Police detective, testified that Coleman told her that on the day the baby died, several other people had been in the house, all of whom were methamphetamine users. She said she obtained a search warrant on March 9, but found no chemicals or methamphetamine products in the home that could have caused Tristin’s burns.

Both Coleman and Hilburn-Gaynor are being held in the Henderson Detention Center. Coleman is being held without bail and Hilburn-Gaynor’s bail is set at $10,000.

Hilburn-Gaynor’s attorney, Robert Glennen, asked Justice of the Peace Rodney Burr to reduce Hilburn-Gaynor’s bail. Monroe argued the bail should be increased to $25,000.

“She has battery, domestic violence and prostitution charges from 2008, so I think $10,000 is not enough,” Monroe said.

Burr denied both requests and kept the bail at $10,000.

An arraignment for Coleman and Hilburn-Gaynor has been scheduled for 9 a.m. on Dec. 1.

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