Man Charged With Abuse in Death of Girlfriend’s Son : Crime: Prosecutors are awaiting coroner’s report to determine if evidence warrants a murder charge.
A Newport Beach house painter, charged Tuesday with felony child abuse in connection with the death of his girlfriend’s 22-month-old son, could face a murder charge, prosecutors said.
“We are waiting for the coroner’s report to determine whether or not there’s evidence to base some sort of criminal homicide charges,” Deputy Dist. Atty. David L. Brent said.
Brian Laudenback, 32, was arrested Sunday in Costa Mesa after the death of Tyler Jaeger, the son of Laudenback’s girlfriend, Karey Jaeger, 22.
The child died Friday while in the care of Laudenback, who often baby-sat the child while Tyler’s mother went to work in the San Gabriel Valley, police said.
A preliminary autopsy showed that the child apparently died of abnormal bleeding from a lacerated liver and pancreas due to infliction of a blunt instrument, according to Newport Police Sgt. Andy Gonis.
Laudenback was charged with felony corporal punishment on a child, which carries a maximum punishment of six years in prison, Brent said. The district attorney’s office will decide in the next few days whether to file murder charges, he said.
Laudenback, who made a brief court appearance Tuesday, postponed entering a plea to the charge. A new arraignment date was set for April 8.
He is being held at the Orange County Jail on $100,000 bail.
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