The trial of Cassidy Renee Lemmon, a 25-year-old woman from Longmont charged with child molestation of a foster childbegan opening statements Monday morning.
Lemmon is facing three counts of child abuse resulting in death after 1-year-old Thomas Boyles died in her care from numerous head and internal injuries, according to a 2019 affidavit.
Lemmon’s partner and co-foster parent Vincent Ray Johnson, 29, was also arrested in connection with the death and faced the same charges as Lemmon.
Johnson pleaded guilty in October 2021 to child abuse – negligence resulting in death, a class 3 misdemeanor. He is required to testify against Lemmon and received a stipulated 12-year prison sentence as part of the plea deal.
The affidavit lists the charges as knowingly or recklessly causing injury, unreasonably placing a child in a situation that posed a threat to the child’s health, and a persistent pattern of behavior resulting in assault or accumulation of injuries resulting in death.
At 5:47 p.m. on April 22, 2019, Lemmon called 911 and said Boyles was unconscious and not breathing, according to the affidavit. When first responders arrived at the scene, Lemmon performed CPR on Boyles on his lower body which some described as “a little deep,” according to the affidavit.
Boyles was taken to Longmont United Hospital and later airlifted to the Children’s Hospital of Aurora, according to the affidavit.
He was pronounced dead on April 24, 2019.
According to the affidavit, forensic pathologist Dr. Meredith Frank determined that the boy died from blunt injuries to the head and torso. In addition, Frank noted the presence of some healed rib fractures.
While CPR was performed, Frank said the injuries were not consistent with damage caused solely by CPR, saying, “There is no adequate explanation for the severity of the head injury or the healing rib fractures.
Frank noted that the death was “very suspicious in nature” and ruled that the manner of death was homicide.
In opening statements, Lemmon’s lawyer argued that Johnson has anger issues and also claimed that police gave Johnson words to help defend himself.
Defense attorneys also alleged that experts failed to take into account how sick the child was during the autopsy and examination and failed to note the harm the EMT did to the child during a failed intubation attempt.
The process is scheduled to take at least a week.