Trial set for parents of boy, 4, who died in hot vehicle

By Cara McCoy

Monday, Nov. 9, 2009 | 12:37 p.m.

A trial date has been set for the parents of a 4-year-old boy who died after being left for 17 hours in the family's SUV in June 2008.

Stanley and Colleen Rimer are set to stand trial on Nov. 15, 2010, on charges of second-degree murder and multiple counts of child abuse, neglect and endangerment. The trial is expected to last about two weeks, prosecutors said today.

The murder charge stems from a June 8, 2008, incident at the family's home near Sahara Avenue and Nellis Boulevard.

Police responded to the home after a report at about 8:30 a.m. that Jason Rimer, 4, had been found not moving in the family's vehicle. That vehicle had been parked at the home since about 3 p.m. the previous day, when family members returned from church.

Jason was pronounced dead. He was still dressed for church, wearing a white shirt and tie, court records show.

The coroner's office determined the boy died from heat exposure.

Several of the charges against the Rimers stem from the conditions related to their other children. Records show the family had come to the attention of Child Protective Services multiple times in recent years. Reports from the time of Jason's death and previous records indicate the Rimers' home was unkempt and the children had lice on occasion.

Stanley Rimer's attorney, deputy public defender Tim O'Brien, said today he had asked the Nevada Supreme Court to hear an argument to dismiss the indictment but the Supreme Court declined to hear it.

A motion to dismiss the case in District Court will be heard Jan. 6, 2010. Previous motions to dismiss have been denied, according to court records.

The family told police that Jason suffered from a medical condition known as myotonic dystrophy -- a form of muscular dystrophy characterized by the wasting away of muscles. He had a limited vocabulary and was physically weak, unable to dress himself or to open doors, records indicate.

"This is a pair that lost their entire family. It's very sad," O'Brien said.

Motions to sever the defendants' cases as well as to try the murder charge and the abuse and neglect charges separately also have been denied.

O'Brien said at the time Jason was left in the vehicle, Stanley Rimer hadn't been in charge of him. He had been ill and, after returning from church before the rest of the family, had remained in his room.

"My client's position is that his wife made a terrible mistake. Whether it's criminal or not will be up to a jury," O'Brien said.

The Rimers remain in custody at the Clark County Detention Center. Their children are being cared for by a relative in another state, O'Brien said.