Altoms still awaiting their day in court

A wood cutout of a smiling snail rests against the base of a homemade cross in a quiet country cemetery in northern Bollinger County. The name Ethan is scratched in the green paint.

A Power Ranger action figure stands guard. Ceramic hands pressed together in prayer point heavenward. A figure of a small redheaded boy playing soccer adds a playful touch. All around are toy trucks and angel figurines.

The decorations pay tribute to Ethan Patrick Williams, who was 4 when he died Aug. 25, 2005. Ethan succumbed to a virulent strain of antibiotic-resistant bacteria after a three-week struggle for life.

On Sept. 20, 2005, the day before Ethan would have turned 5, his mother, Emily Altom, and stepfather, Michael Altom, were charged with voluntary manslaughter, accused of waiting too long to seek medical care. In addition, each was charged with three felony counts of endangering the welfare of a child, one count each for Ethan and his two brothers, who lived with the Altoms.

For nearly two years the Altoms have lived under the cloud of being accused of knowingly neglecting Ethan and causing his death. They lost custody of the other two boys, with the older going to the home of his father, Danny Williams, and the younger living with Emily Altom's parents.

And for most of those two years, the Altoms have not been inside a courtroom. Since their case was moved to Phelps County on a change of venue in December 2005, they have not appeared before Judge Tracy Storie, who will preside over their case.

The long delays concern Pat Williams, grandmother of Ethan and mother of Danny Williams. She said her son, who could not be reached for this article, hasn't had much news to report when she asks about progress in the case.

"It is just a long, drawn-out affair, really," Pat Williams said.

With the Saturday anniversary of Ethan's death, Pat Wiliams said she misses Ethan and recalled his struggle against the infection that robbed him of breath. The infection first attacked Ethan's leg, burrowing to his femur, and then caused severe pneumonia that eventually took his life.

"It is something a grandparent doesn't forget," she said.

Perry County Prosecuting Attorney Thomas Hoeh did not return numerous messages left at his Perryville office seeking comment on the case. The Altoms' attorney, Allen Moss of Cape Girardeau, said he understands frustration with delays in the case but said they are unavoidable. The Altoms are charged with medical neglect, Moss noted, and he must take depositions from as many doctors and nurses at Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital as possible before agreeing to go to trial.

"This is a significant case," Moss said. "It is the most important case the Altoms will ever have, and they are going to get their day in court and it is my job to see their day in court counts for something."

Court records, Ethan's medical case file and state child abuse and neglect reports paint a vivid portrait of Ethan's fight to live as well as a life in squalor in the Altoms' home. A sworn statement filed with the original charges reported that Emily Altom told investigators that Ethan was feeling ill, had a fever and turned a "modeling clay gray" color before he was taken to Perry County Memorial Hospital for treatment Aug. 1, 2005.

Within 12 hours of his arrival at the hospital, Ethan was in a helicopter on his way to Cardinal Glennon. The surgeon who sought to stem the infection by operating on Ethan's leg, Dr. Ann DiMaio-Ricci, testified at the Altoms' preliminary hearing that she had little hope for his survival.

Investigators visiting Aug. 3, 2005, found a filthy home reeking from "a foul, offensive odor," with a kitchen floor covered by trash, dried food and dishes, the records show. A small path through the empty beer cans, wine cooler bottles, broken toys and dirty dishes led to the bedrooms. Another path led to the only working bathroom, where the toilet was stained and the tub was filled with junk.

While the voluntary manslaughter charges are based on medical neglect, the child endangerment charges stem from the filthy conditions found in the Altoms' home. When investigators found those conditions in 2005, it was the second time the Altoms had been visited by Missouri Children's Division case workers and law enforcement. In 2004, the three children were removed from the home temporarily because of similar conditions.

Moss said he's determined to show that the Altoms acted reasonably in their approach to Ethan's illness. The bacterial infection, known as community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or CA-MRSA, is becoming widespread and causes symptoms that can be mistaken for more easily treatable illness, such as the flu, he said.

"Even if it is properly diagnosed, you can still die from it," Moss said.

A matter of scheduling

The trial delays aren't the result of fights over motions seeking to suppress evidence or other arguments. Instead, the root of the lengthy process is taking deposition testimony at times when Hoeh, Moss and the medical professionals can all make the appointment, Moss said.

"It could take a few more months," Moss said. "The prosecutor and I have been available. We have much more availability than the doctors in St. Louis seem to have."

When depositions are complete, Moss said, he intends to seek separate trials for Michael and Emily Altom and to ask Storie to order separate trials on the manslaughter and child endangerment charges. If convicted and sentenced to the full term on each count, the Altoms could each serve 36 years in prison.

The passing years won't dim Pat Williams' memories of Ethan, she said. She worries that the lengthy legal delays, however, could diminish the community's memory of how he died.

"That is what I am scared of, that it is going to be forgotten, and that is a shame," she said. "A little one like that shouldn't be forgotten."

rkeller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126