Man Takes Plea Deal In Toddler’s Death
Prosecutors Cite Lack Of Evidence
HARTFORD — A Manchester man suspected in the death of a toddler pleaded no contest Wednesday to charges of misdemeanor assault and attempting to tamper with a witness.
Sage Warburton, 26, initially faced a felony risk of injury to a minor charge and was held on high bail as authorities awaited his arrest on charges related to the toddler's death.
But after reviewing the evidence they had, including the autopsy report for the child, prosecutors concluded they could not prove Warburton was guilty of a more serious charge. No additional charges were ever filed.
Manchester police determined during their investigation into the toddler's death that Warburton struck him in the head about a month prior to the boy's death, according to an arrest warrant.
In an interview with police, Warburton only admitted to slapping the boy's hand, according to the warrant.
The boy's mother told police she saw Warburton strike the boy in the head, but the disclosure came about a month later. The woman and Warburton lived together at the time.
Hartford Superior Court Judge Omar William said the plea offer followed months of work by prosecutor Donna Mambrino and defense attorney Meredith Olan to assess the evidence and “what they reasonably could prove beyond a reasonable doubt.”
The boy's mother initially told staff at Manchester Memorial Hospital and later Connecticut Children's Medical Center that her son suffered a head injury after tripping and striking his head on a bed frame. The allegation of assault came a month later.
An autopsy on Oct. 10 by the state medical examiner's office found old injuries in various stages of healing, police said. Bruises were found on the boy's stomach and chest, under his arms and on his left arm, and he had a fractured rib that was healing, the warrant says. There was a bruise on the boy's head, but his skull had not been fractured, police said.
The cause of death was found to be blunt injuries with laceration of the liver, and the manner was homicide, an official at the medical examiner's office said.