Hearing set for man accused of child’s murder

Brett Douglas Wozynski, a former resident of Jamestown who has pleaded not guilty to murder and child abuse in connection with the death of a 3-year-old boy in September 2018, appeared on video in a Sonora courtroom Wednesday to determine a date for his preliminary hearing

Wozynski, who was 25 when he was arrested in June, had his head shaved and a slight mustache. He pleaded not guilty on June 12.

Tuolumne County Public Defender Scott Gross asked for a preliminary hearing setting, which Judge Donald Segerstrom granted at 8:30 a.m. Jan. 12 in Department 2, a courtroom in the old courthouse on Yaney Avenue.

Deputy District Attorney Cassandra Jenecke said she anticipated a preliminary hearing would last at least two days, especially if Gross calls witnesses.

Segerstrom told Wozynski he has a right to a speedy trial and asked if he was OK with not having the hearing until Jan. 12, and Wozynski said, “Yes, your honor.”

When Wozynski was arrested on June 4, the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office identified the child who died on Sept. 19, 2018, as Sean Arnold.

Also in June, the District Attorney’s Office released more details of the boy’s death and said he died of blunt force trauma to the head.

Prosecutors said the child was with Wozynski, who was the boyfriend of the child’s mother, when he called dispatchers around noon on Sept. 16, 2018, to say the child fell down and was unconscious.

Firefighters and paramedics responded to a house on Tionesta Road in Tuolumne. The boy was flown by helicopter to UC Davis Medical Center and put on life support. He died a few days after life support was removed, prosecutors said.

“This child’s death was suspicious from the beginning,” District Attorney Laura Krieg said in a news release. “These types of cases are difficult and require a significant amount of investigation and frequently involve long delays before charges can be filed.”

If convicted, Wozynski faces the possibility of two life sentences.

Wozynski remained in custody of the Tuolumne County Jail, where he’s being held on $1 million bail.