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Man charged in boy's killing

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Foster child dies after hard punches

Tom Held

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

A 31-year-old Waupun man caring for two foster children, ages 3 and 2, killed one of the boys and severely injured in the other with punches delivered in a rage, according to a criminal complaint issued Monday.

Shane Marquardt admitted he punched the boys as hard as he could after finding the older youth had vomited in his bed shortly before noon Friday, the complaint alleges; Marquardt, who stands 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighs close to 210 pounds, likened the blows to punches he delivers to a heavy bag in his basement.

Within hours, Camron Gardner, the 3-year-old, died from internal bleeding.

The 2-year-old, who has a different last name, remains in Children's Hospital of Wisconsin in Wauwatosa, where he is recovering from surgery to repair a perforated bowel and other internal injuries.

The Journal Sentinel is not naming him to protect his identity.

Marquardt appeared in Dodge County Circuit Court on Monday afternoon and was ordered held in the County Jail, pending $60,000 cash bail.

He was charged with first-degree reckless homicide, which carries a maximum sentence of 60 years in prison, and first-degree reckless injury, which carries a maximum of 25 years.

Marquardt has no prior criminal record in Wisconsin and had not previously drawn the attention of Waupun police, Chief Dale Heeringa said.

David Titus, director of the Dodge County Human Services and Health Department, said he could not release information detailing how long Marquardt and his wife had been foster parents for the two boys.

They have no biological children or other foster children in their home, he said.

The homicide was the first in Waupun in at least several years.

"This is very uncomfortable to work with, no matter how hardened you may be as a police officer," Heeringa said.

The Marquardts live in a quiet neighborhood in south-central Waupun and appeared to maintain their home without attracting any suspicion or complaints, he said.

Managers in the county-run foster care program will review the case, along with officials from the state Department of Health and Family Services, Titus said.

According to the criminal complaint, Marquardt told a police investigator that he "snapped" after waking the boys from their late-morning nap; he was angered in part because the boys were "whining and upset, tired and cranky." After delivering the fatal blows, Marquardt put the boys back to bed, the complaint says.

He called 911 about an hour later, after discovering that the older boy was vomiting again.

Emergency medical personnel found Camron unresponsive.

His eyes were open and he appeared to be breathing, but he later bled to death.

Marquardt didn't mention punching the boys until a police investigator confronted him the next day, according to the complaint.

Autopsy results showed that Camron suffered numerous bruises to his body and blunt force trauma to his head, suggesting he had been punched or kicked.

A doctor told police the level of trauma to the 2-year-old was rare, even in a car accident.

"It's a tragedy on so many levels," Titus said.

2006 May 9