The trial for a Grand Forks man accused in his 10-week-old daughter's death was pushed back to June at a hearing Friday before Judge Joel Medd.
Tyson Hammond, 25, was scheduled to go to trial April 16 on a charge of murder, but a medical report about the child's mother and reports from two of the state's medical experts have not been released to the defense, so the trial will be postponed until June 19.
Hammond was charged with murder after his daughter McKenzie died from what Dr. George Mizell, the state medical examiner at the time, said was "asphyxiation by suffocation."
According to court documents, Hammond had awakened about 8:30 a.m. Oct. 8, 2005, to attend to his two daughters, McKenzie and her older sister, while his then-wife, Angela, was asleep.
The day before, McKenzie was "fussy" and not eating, according to court records. The morning of Oct. 8, Hammond first attempted to feed the baby, and when she didn't take a bottle, he placed her in a bouncy chair. Then, he laid on the couch watching cartoons with the girls, according to court records.
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Minutes later, the infant was vomiting, according to court records. Hammond apparently tried to clean the vomit before alerting Angela, then the two called 911 for help, according to court records.
The child was pronounced dead at Altru later that morning.
Doctors for the defense said the child could not have died by asphyxiation by suffocation because of how much she vomited and because emergency personnel detected a faint heartbeat when they responded to the scene, according to reports filed in district court. They raised the question of whether a delayed response to vaccinations was the cause of death, according to court records.
Now, the prosecution would like to include testimony from Dr. Mary Sens, who is acting medical examiner and who Mizell consulted at the time of the autopsy, and possibly testimony from a children's doctor from St. Paul in response to the defense's expert testimony.
Just what the two might testify to hasn't been revealed to the defense. Hammond's attorney, Alex Reichert, said they would not be prepared to go to trial April 16 because of it.
Hammond remains out of jail on bond.
