St. Joseph man charged with felony murder of 7-month-old baby

From Staff Reports | SCTimes

ST. JOSEPH — Bail was set at $1 million Thursday for the St. Joseph man accused of killing a 7-month-old child Saturday.

James Joseph Robert Wood, 29, of St. Joseph faces one charge of felony murder in the second degree, one charge of felony murder in the third degree, and one charge felony manslaughter in the first degree, according to the complaint. He also faces DWI and assault charges in Morrison County.

Wood appeared in court Thursday morning in Benton County, where Judge Michael Jesse set bail at $1 million without conditions, or $500,000 with the condition of GPS tracking, according to Benton County Attorney Philip Miller.

Previously: St. Joseph man suspected of murdering 7-month-old boy in Rice

According to the complaint, at 10:15 a.m. Saturday, the Benton County Sheriff's Dispatch Center received a call from a woman who said she believed her infant son was dead. Deputies, firefighters and paramedics responded to the home in the 1100 block of 108th Street Northwest in Rice.

They found the child deceased, with bruises on the left side of his face and head. The Midwest Medical Examiner Office's autopsy found several skull fractures and determined the infant's death was a homicide resulting from blunt force trauma, according to the complaint.

The child's mother identified Wood as her boyfriend and said he had been staying at her residence for one or two months.

The child's mother said she put the infant to bed around 9:30 p.m. Friday. Later that night, she drank alcoholic beverages with Wood, then went to bed without Wood between 11:30 p.m. and midnight.

The child's mother told police she checked on the infant and the 4-year-old also there before going to bed and they appeared to be fine.

According to the criminal complaint, when the child's mother got up at about 10 a.m. Saturday, Wood and his vehicle were gone. She checked on the children, determined the infant was not breathing and called 911.

A Benton County deputy overheard the child's mother ask the 4-year-old if he had seen anything, to which the deputy heard the child respond, "Oh, James hit him," according to the complaint.

The child, who had slept close on a couch close to the infant, told investigators "James" was "naughty," and indicated the defendant punched the infant.

Investigators located Wood in the Morrison County Jail. He had been arrested early Saturday on suspicion of driving while impaired. Wood told an arresting officer he was attempting to leave the state, according to the criminal complaint.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Morrison County District Court, Wood became agitated and refused to submit to a breath test during the transport to jail. Wood would not comply with being booked into the jail and punched a deputy in the face.

He consented to a test Saturday afternoon that showed his blood alcohol level at the time was .069. The legal limit for driving under the influence or driving while impaired is .08.

He was charged with one count of DWI in the second degree, one count of DWI in the third degree, and one count of assaulting a peace officer in the fourth degree.

Wood was held in custody until he was arraigned on the DWI charges Tuesday morning. He was arrested following his court appearance and transported to Benton County Jail.