Hearing set for man accused of killing girlfriend’s daughter

By Tiffany Gibson

Tuesday, April 13, 2010 | 10:47 a.m.

A preliminary hearing has been set for a 24-year-old Henderson man accused of killing his girlfriend’s 16-month-old daughter.

Cody Geddings is charged with murder by child abuse with substantial bodily harm. He appeared in court Tuesday before Justice of the Peace David Gibson Sr. with deputy public defender Norman Reed.

Reed requested a preliminary hearing be scheduled after at least 30 days to give attorneys time to prepare for the case. Gibson granted the request and scheduled the hearing for 1 p.m. May 19.

Geddings was arrested April 2 after his girlfriend’s daughter, identified as Addison Weast, died at University Medical Center of apparent head and spinal injuries, authorities have said.

Police said Addison was taken to St. Rose de Lima Hospital at 1:40 p.m. March 31. Her mother, 19-year-old Jaime Higgons, said Addison had fallen from her crib, but police said the severity of the injuries was inconsistent with that explanation.

Higgons told authorities her boyfriend was babysitting the toddler when the injury occurred, an arrest report said. Geddings told officers the girl had a seizure while she was in her playpen. He then said Addison had been playing near a wobbly chair in the backyard of his home, and that a full-sized acetylene gas cylinder fell on her.

Addison was taken from St. Rose de Lima Hospital to UMC's trauma unit for surgery. At the time the girl was transported her vital signs were stable, but UMC doctors discovered the child’s skull had been shattered above her right ear, causing hemorrhaging in her brain, police said.

According to the arrest report, Geddings didn't call 911 or make any calls for medical help.

Court records indicate Geddings has also been arrested in connection with the abuse and neglect of his own son.

The maximum sentence Geddings could receive on a child endangerment charge for his abuse of his son is a year in jail and a $2,000 fine. He was released from custody in July after posting $3,000 bail, court records show. He is currently being held in the Henderson Detention Center without bail.