The Virginian-Pilot
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NORFOLK
Seven-week-old Ethan Huhn struggled to draw his last breaths.
He had 13 rib fractures, some of them fresh, making it painful to take in air. He lay face down on a blanket, with another blanket over him, in a room with the thermostat set to 85 degrees.
And he had diphenhydramine in his system, a sedative found in medicines like Benadryl and Tylenol Simply Sleep.
Ethan died on March 26, 2006, as his father, Anthony J. Huhn, sat nearby on a couch playing video games on his laptop computer. Huhn called paramedics when he noticed that his son was purple.
Prosecutor Jill Harris described the events leading to Ethan's death in papers filed in court Thursday during a plea hearing for Ethan's mother, Alisha Huhn. She entered an Alford plea to a charge of felony child neglect and faces a maximum of 10 years at her sentencing in June. The plea means Huhn, 24, does not admit guilt, but acknowledges prosecutors had enough evidence to convict her.
Anthony Huhn, 25, faces charges of murder, malicious wounding and child neglect. He is scheduled to be tried in August.
Among the evidence submitted Thursday was a transcription of a phone call between the Huhns, recorded by Naval Criminal Investigative Service detectives with Anthony Huhn's permission. During the call, Alisha Huhn admitted adding Tylenol Simply Sleep and alcohol to Ethan's bottle.
In her summary of evidence in the case, Harris wrote: "The level of Benadryl in Ethan's blood was nine times greater than what it should have been (if ordered by a pediatrician) based on his weight of 12 pounds."
Dr. Suzanne Starling, a forensic pediatrician, wrote that diphenhydramine is not recommended for infants because of its sedative effects, and that boxes of the medication clearly state it is not for infants.
There was no evidence showing that Alisha Huhn was responsible for the boy's fractured ribs, Harris wrote.
The couple have a daughter who is now staying with her grandparents.
Michelle Washington, (757) 446-2287, michelle.washington@ pilotonline.com
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Ethan Huhn
What a miserable 13 weeks this little innocent guy lived. It seems child abuse and neglect are more rampant than autism, with much more dire consequences; yet, doesn't get near the publicity or funding. It's hard to believe that no doctors, nurses, technicians or other personnel during prenatal appts. detected a lack of interest or excitement at becoming parents in these people. Also hard to believe that no family, neighbors or friends ever noticed anything out of the ordinary. With the number of fractures sustained by this baby, this abuse had to be a regular occurrence. As a society we need to be more mindful,(easy nosy perhaps) of the plight of our neighbors and fellow citizens.Some intervention and parenting assistance may have averted this tragedy.
Mother faces 10 years in infant son's death
Why isn't the and her worthless husband already in prison. They deserve nothing else but death for the way the baby was treated and died from ungodly wounds.