Jury mulls fate of airman, girlfriend in child's death

The fate of a Nellis Air Force Base airman and his girlfriend charged with murder in the child abuse slaying of her infant daughter remains in the hands of a District Court jury.

The jury in District Judge Joseph Bonaventure's courtroom deliberated more than five hours Tuesday before returning today to continue sorting out the case that pitted one defendant against the other.

Twenty-year-old Dawn Mathiasen faces second-degree murder charges alleging she ignored instructions by police after an earlier abuse incident to keep the girl, Samantha Storm, away from the purported abuser.

Brandon Parish, also 20, faces first-degree murder charges contending he was responsible for the massive head injuries that caused the 20-month-old baby's death on April 17, 1997, while her mother was at a fast-food restaurant.

Prosecutors have alleged the girl died at Nellis as a result of being slammed against a solid object, rather than being struck with something.

During closing arguments Tuesday, Parish's lawyer Deputy Special Public Defender Peter LaPorta contended the killer actually was Mathiasen who laid the blame on her boyfriend in an unsuccessful attempt to avoid criminal charges.

Her attorney, Ulrich Smith, conceded Mathiasen "did something stupid ... and she's going to live in her own personal hell" for leaving Parish alone with her child.

Parish had been baby sitting Samantha while Mathiasen went to get some food, witnesses have stated.

Smith said Mathiasen "may be guilty of forsaking her child ... but she didn't murder anyone."

Deputy District Attorney Vickie Monroe countered that by leaving the baby alone with Parish, Mathiasen "killed her child as surely as if she struck the blow."

Deputy District Attorney Doug Herndon urged the jury to convict both defendants of the murder charges that could put them in prison for life.

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