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The complaint

According to the complaint, Milton police responded to a call for a juvenile cardiac arrest at 1026 Smith St. on the evening of Thursday, May 23, when dispatchers were told there was an infant who was not breathing.

The baby was transported to Cabell Huntington Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on Friday, May 24.

According to the complaint, the child was in the care of his father, Wilson, and Wilsonòòò½ÊÓƵ™s girlfriend, Grigson, when Grigson called 911. In the statement made to the dispatchers, the complaint said, the child was in a baby swing when he began spitting up and having breathing complications.

The complaint said Grigson administered CPR, and Wilson said the child was coughing up blood.

Medics who responded to the scene told officers there was trauma to the babyòòò½ÊÓƵ™s head and they were concerned about markings on his neck, according to the complaint.

The testimony

Brianna Meadows, Evanderòòò½ÊÓƵ™s mother, said during a probable cause hearing Monday that although she has sole custody, she had eventually made an arrangement with Wilson for him to take the baby on the weekends. She said she had no reason to believe he would abuse Evander.

According to Meadowsòòò½ÊÓƵ™s testimony, Wilson also has a daughter with another woman, although he did not seem to show any favoritism toward her.

Meadows said that when she dropped off Evander, he had rhinovirus. She also noted he had a milk rash along his neck that she had been treating but was otherwise healthy.

According to Meadows, on the day of Evanderòòò½ÊÓƵ™s death, she had texted Wilson asking about the baby. She said she received a response some hours later from him saying he was not home, which made her to believe child had been left in Grigsonòòò½ÊÓƵ™s care.

She said she received the call that the child was in the emergency room later on the night of the incident, and although both Wilson and Grigson took a while to arrive, she said Wilson seemed òòò½ÊÓƵœworried,òòò½ÊÓƵ� but Grigson seemed òòò½ÊÓƵœnonchalant.òòò½ÊÓƵ�

Lt. Kyle Oòòò½ÊÓƵ™Dell, a Milton police officer, was the one who originally received the 911 call from Grigson. He said when he entered the apartment, both Wilson and Grigson were there, and Evander was lying on the floor, not breathing.

Oòòò½ÊÓƵ™Dell said he administered CPR until medics arrived, but he noticed blue and red markings around Evanderòòò½ÊÓƵ™s neck.

Wilson and Grigsonòòò½ÊÓƵ™s defense attorneys argued during the hearing that bruising takes awhile to develop, so it would be difficult to assess when the injuries that caused the bruising actually occurred.

But Officer Winston Lloyd, also with the MPD, had taken several photos of the infant throughout the night and testified the bruising on the child had become darker and more prominent throughout as time went on, indicating to him, although he is not a medical professional, the trauma had occurred recently.

Lloyd testified the bruising on Evander looked consistent with someone wrapping their middle finger and thumb around his neck, he had a bruise on his ear and his head was bright red as though there was blood beneath the surface of his skin.

Meadows testified Wilson had sent her a photo in the days before the incident of a bruise on Evanderòòò½ÊÓƵ™s ear, asking where it came from, although she did not see it when she picked him up.

Meadows said there was also a recent incident where her other son had picked up the baby in an attempt to get him to stop crying and laid him on the floor, although she was able to pick him up and console him immediately.

The defense attorney brought up a text message Meadows allegedly sent Wilson weeks before the incident occurred saying she would not put their son in harmòòò½ÊÓƵ™s way again, which she said referred to an incident with an ex-boyfriend.

According to Lloydòòò½ÊÓƵ™s testimony, Wilson told him he was making dinner with his daughter in the kitchen of the apartment when he heard noise coming from the other room where Evander was. Grigson called 911 while he administered CPR until she took over.

Lloyd, who led the investigation and charged Wilson and Grigson, testified he questioned the neighbors in their apartment building who told him they heard what sounded like a lot of shouting coming from the apartment in general, and they heard a child crying on the night of the incident.

Lloyd said he also took Evanderòòò½ÊÓƵ™s blanket into evidence, which had blood and òòò½ÊÓƵœformula pukeòòò½ÊÓƵ� on it.

Lloyd said, when he witnessed Evanderòòò½ÊÓƵ™s autopsy, it looked as though there was a mark under Evanderòòò½ÊÓƵ™s skin on his head that was similar to the heel of a palm. The trauma caused to the side of the head, along with the brain bleed, caused Evanderòòò½ÊÓƵ™s death, according to Lloyd.

This observation paired with the markings on Evanderòòò½ÊÓƵ™s neck, in Lloydòòò½ÊÓƵ™s opinion, warranted the arrests of Wilson and Grigson, who were the only adults in the apartment at the time of the incident, he said.

Although Wilson and Grigson turned themselves in, Lloyd said Grigson did not respond to his original call, and the two appeared eight days after the incident after trying to negotiate for a later date. He also noted, although they both showed up to the hospital and gave statements, they were there approximately two hours later, which he testified could have been enough time to compare stories.

Meadows testified Wilson had told her the reason he showed up to the hospital so long after the incident was that he had to find somewhere he could leave his daughter.

The ruling

Ultimately, Lloyd said he had no specific evidence proving Wilson or Grigson had caused any intentional harm to the child, only that Evander had bruising on his neck and trauma to his head that had caused his death while he was in their care.

òòò½ÊÓƵœ(The prosecution) hasnòòò½ÊÓƵ™t identified one single act. This is a probable cause hearing. Youòòò½ÊÓƵ™ve gotta offer some kind of evidence that my client did something. Not that she was just there,òòò½ÊÓƵ� Lee Booten, one of the defense attorneys, said.

But prosecuting attorney Payton Smith argued there was evidence to show someone must have hit the child in the head and choked him while he was in the care of the two adults, and the jury should decide if there is enough evidence to convict them.

òòò½ÊÓƵœAs to the assertions by the defense about malicious and intentional, there are fingerprint bruises on the childòòò½ÊÓƵ™s neck that the M.E. indicated were indicative of choking. There is nothing more malicious and intentional than choking a 3-month-old infant,òòò½ÊÓƵ� Smith said.

Cabell County Magistrate Judge Chris Sperry ruled there was not enough evidence to proceed to trial. Still, Booten told The Herald-Dispatch he does not believe this is the end of this case, and if the investigation continues, the two could still have the possibility of being indicted.