By Seamus McGraw
December 6, 2006
NORTH BRANCH, Minn. (Crime Library) — It was, authorities believe, a textbook case of child abuse — a 4-month-old baby from a rural county rushed to the hospital, barely breathing, bleeding from the brain and suffering from other injuries, including five broken ribs already beginning to heal.
And yet even now, nearly four months after Joshua Nordin died, and almost a month after his 21-year-old father was arrested on charges of second-degree murder, as well as assault, authorities are still piecing together the details of the baby's death.
The case of baby Joshua in many respects mirrors other high-profile investigations into child abuse allegations, including the controversial death last spring of 11-week-old Jason Midyette, who authorities believe was a victim of an ongoing pattern of abuse that left him with more than two dozen broken bones before he finally succumbed to brain injuries.
(See full coverage of the Midyette case at http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/family/jason_midyette/index.html)
But unlike the Midyette case, in which after nearly nine months Boulder District Attorney Mary Lacey has not yet filed criminal charges against anyone, the Nordin case in Minnesota is moving toward a final resolution. While charges have already been filed against Jason James Nordin, authorities in Minnesota say they are continuing their probe, and can't rule out the possibility that additional charges may be filed in the case.
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| Jason James Nordin (mugshot) |
To a great extent, the comparatively quick pace of the baby Joshua probe was the result of luck and determination on the part of investigators. But it may also demonstrate how effective a child abuse investigation can be when local authorities turn to experts for help. Within days of baby Joshua's Aug. 19 death, the state medical examiner had already made a preliminary determination that the child died of what is known as "shaken baby syndrome" and prosecutors, realizing their limitations, had already enlisted the aid of a veteran child abuse prosecutor from the state attorney general's office.
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