Prosecutors might seek death penalty in child death case

A death review committee will determine whether prosecutors should seek the death penalty for a 21-year-old Henderson man accused of killing his girlfriend’s baby.

Rayshaun Coleman is charged with first-degree murder, child abuse and neglect. He pleaded not guilty to those charges this morning during an arraignment.

Public defender Randy Pike said a trial date can’t be set until after the death review committee meeting. He said if prosecutors don’t seek the death penalty, Coleman could be sentenced to life in prison.

A status check was set for 8:15 a.m. on Dec. 15.

Coleman’s case has been combined with that of the mother of the infant, 21-year-old Christal Hilburn-Gaynor, who has been charged with child abuse and neglect after leaving the infant in Coleman’s care while she was serving weekends at the Henderson Detention Center on domestic violence and battery charges.

Hilburn-Gaynor pleaded not guilty this morning to child abuse and neglect charges.

Attorney Robert Glennen said the death review committee could delay Hilburn-Gaynor’s trial. He said he planned to file a motion to separate the cases.

“I expect a separate trial in the near future,” Glennen said.

Coleman was arrested after officers received a 911 call on March 8 that a baby wasn’t breathing. Police arrived at the house in the 1900 block of Dunnam Street, near Pabco and Sunset roads, and found the baby beaten and burned, authorities have said.

During the preliminary hearing for Coleman, officers testified there were discrepancies in his story and that he didn’t immediately call 911. Officers also said Coleman told them someone else must have entered the home and injured the baby while the boy was sleeping.

A Clark County medical examiner testified the baby died from traumatic brain injuries, including two fractures on the right side of the skull. The baby was five weeks, four days old.

An autopsy revealed the infant also had several fractured ribs, some of which were injuries suffered seven to 10 days before his death. Other injuries were older wounds beginning to heal, the medical examiner said.

The infant’s death was ruled as a homicide.

CORRECTION: The Sun previously reported that David Schieck was in court to represent Rayshaun Coleman, however, it was special public defender Randy Pike. The names have been corrected. The Sun regrets this error. | (December 16, 2009)