Prosecutors to seek death penalty for accused child killer

Prosecutors have decided to 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 all charges Dec. 1 during his arraignment.

Tuesday morning he appeared in front of District Court Judge Michael Villani for a status check. Prosecutor Vicki Monroe told the court that the district attorney’s office is seeking the death penalty for Coleman and is ready to go to trial.

Public defender Randy Pike and Monroe agreed on an October 2010 trial date. Villani set the trial for 10 a.m. on Oct. 11.

Coleman asked Villani if the trial could be scheduled earlier. After the status check, Coleman spoke to Pike, saying “this is my life.”

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 at her Dec. 1 arraignment to child abuse and neglect charges. The district attorney’s office is not seeking the death penalty for Hilburn-Gaynor, Monroe said.

Her attorney, Robert Glennen, said he hopes to file a motion next week that would separate the two cases. If the cases are separated, Glennen said Hilburn-Gaynor would have a trial before October 2010, possibly in late March. He said no motions have been filed.

Coleman was arrested March 8 after officers received a 911 call 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 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. The infant’s death was ruled as a homicide.

Both Coleman and Hilburn-Gaynor are being held in the Henderson Detention Center. Coleman is being held without bail and Hilburn-Gaynor’s bail is set at $10,000.

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)