Trial begins in 1974 murder case

By Jaclyn O'Malley

jomalley@rgj.com

Did a 3-year-old boy covered in bruises die in 1974 of what his adopted mother said was a fall off a lawn chair at a softball game or did she kick and punch him so forcefully he died from abuse?

Washoe District Court jurors Tuesday began hearing the case against Catherine Bader Wyman, 68, whose estranged daughter's tip to Sparks police in 2005 that Wyman repeatedly abused James "J.W." Bader reopened the investigation into his death.

According to the death certificate signed 20 days after his death, the coroner -- an insurance salesman with no medical training -- said J.W.'s death was an accident due to a fall from a lawn chair.

But after Julie Dunn's tip, a forensic pathologist reviewed the evidence and concluded that J.W.'s death was child abuse.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Karl Hall asked jurors to convict the former Sparks woman, known as Catherine Bader when she lived in Sparks, of second-degree murder.

"It was obvious to (doctors) and the nurses that saw the boy that he was the victim of abuse, and he was beaten," Hall said. "The story by (Wyman) is unbelievable and could not have happened. Children just don't get their bowels transected by falling out of a lawn chair."

Wyman's attorney, Martin Wiener, said she's innocent. He said the Arizona woman is a victim of Dunn's revenge stemming from her mother divorcing her father in the 1980s and wanting to spare her dad from being a suspect.

Two doctors who examined J.W. on Aug. 10, 1974, testified Tuesday they immediately suspected he was a child abuse victim and were so suspicious of Wyman's story that police were called.

The doctors said it would take severe force to cause the boy's intestines to be split against his spine, causing a fatal infection. The doctors explained the injuries he suffered were consistent with being forcefully kicked or punched, being involved in a car crash or being struck in the abdomen with a bat.

Officials say a lack of communication and unfamiliarity with child abuse cases in 1974 is why the suspected homicide slipped through the cracks. Dr. William Buntain, a pediatric surgeon who said the boy died as he tried to save him, testified he told the Baders he suspected possible child abuse and that an autopsy was needed.

"I told them if they had no part in this, they had nothing to worry about," Buntain testified.

He said he called the coroner and warned him of his suspicions.

Wiener said pathologists can't determine when the fatal injury occurred, which leaves open the possibility Wyman's deceased ex-husband, firefighter Larry Bader, might have had something to do with the death. Wyman's younger daughter, Tami, age 12 when her brother died, also is dead. Dunn, scheduled to testify, is the only witness to any alleged abuse.

Family members, including Wyman, told police that Larry Bader and Dunn loved J.W. and they had a strong relationship with the boy, who was known to make a "beeline" for his dad when he came home from 24-hour shifts at the Reno Fire Department, Hall said.

Buntain said J.W.'s fatal injuries were inflicted six to eight hours before Wyman arrived at the hospital with her son in her arms, asking for help.

When doctors examined J.W., his stomach was severely distended, and he had visible bruises in various stages of healing on his head, face, chest, abdomen, genitals, legs and back side, they testified.

Jurors were shown a photo of the lawn chairs Wyman said she had been sitting on next to her son at Dunn's softball game. She said when she got up to cheer, she knocked his chair and he fell, striking his head. He then drank a Coke and ate some ice cream.

A short time later, she said, he began complaining of a stomach ache and was ultimately taken to the emergency room. Dunn called her father at work and told him to meet them there.

Hall said hospital staff described Larry Bader as extremely upset and not wanting to leave his son's side, while his mother seemed detached and angry that police were called.

Dunn told police that she witnessed numerous occasions when her mother abused her developmentally disabled brother and described her kicking and punching him in the abdomen as far as her "Dr. Scholls could reach," slamming his genitals on toilet seats, knocking his head in a fence post and holding his hands in boiling water.

She said her mother threatened her if she reported the abuse. Dunn told police her mother said her father would kill her mother, he'd go to prison and Dunn and her sister would be in foster care and their dog would be put to sleep.

Jurors were shown diagrams of the boy's alleged abuse that depicted a head and body with numerous markings to show visible bruises.

"The first tragedy (for Wyman) is the death of her son," Wiener said. "The second is she is accused in court of murder, intentionally causing the death of J.W., and the third tragedy is the reason why she's being accused in court is because her daughter is accusing her of a crime."

Wiener also said medical records and the Bader family said the boy was clumsy and bruised easily. But Hall said that occurred only after he got to the Bader home, where Wyman cared for J.W. and her daughters.

Wiener said Dunn's accusation is "100 percent false," although pathologists said the boy's injuries are consistent with the injuries she reported her mother inflicting upon the boy.

After Wyman's arrest last year, authorities in Nebraska reviewed the death of her infant daughter that occurred when she was 19. No foul play was found.