Attorney: Couple not responsible for son's death

Michael and Emily Altom's attorney says probable cause narrative left out important details.

Michael and Emily Altom, accused of voluntary manslaughter in the death of 4-year-old Ethan Patrick Williams, posted bond Wednesday and were released from the Perry County Jail.

Emily Altom, Ethan's mother, and Michael Altom, Ethan's stepfather, will make their first court appearance Tuesday in Perryville. But attorney Allen Moss, who represents the couple, isn't waiting for court to question the investigation that led to charges against his clients.

"In the coming months, as it reaches through the court system, we will present evidence that I am confident will be sufficient to prove they are not in any way responsible for the death of their son," Moss said.

The Altoms turned themselves in Tuesday morning. Bond was originally set at $10,000 cash each. Wednesday, associate circuit judge Michael Bullerdieck increased the bond to $15,000 each but allowed the couple to post a surety bond instead of the full cash amount.

"There is no evidence or showing that these folks would be a flight risk in any way," Moss said.

Along with voluntary manslaughter, the Altoms must answer felony child endangerment charges based on their care of Ethan, his 6-year-old brother Holton Williams and their 2-year-old son Dorian Altom. The voluntary manslaughter charges carry a maximum 15-year prison term. The child endangerment charges, three counts for each defendant, carry a prison term of up to seven years on each count.

Emily Altom's uncle, Chuck Carron of Farmington, vigorously defended his niece and her husband in an interview with the Southeast Missourian. He denounced the investigation of Ethan's death as flawed and outrageous.

Investigators didn't talk to members of the family about how the couple took care of their children, he said.

"How dare they assume anything about anyone without knowing them personally," Carron said. "I have about had it. I have had enough."

Ethan died Aug. 25. That was 24 days after being admitted to Perry County Memorial Hospital with what appeared to be pneumonia. He was flown to Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital in St. Louis, where he was diagnosed with osteomyelitis, a severe bacterial infection that had spread into his bones, according to court papers filed in the criminal case.

Investigators with the state Department of Social Services and the Perry County Sheriff's Department visited the Altoms' rural Perry County home on Aug. 3. They found a filthy, foul-smelling dwelling littered with dirty dishes, beer cans and broken toys, according to a probable cause statement written by sheriff's Cpl. Jason Kelley.

In the court statement, Kelley wrote that after falling on his bicycle July 28 Ethan began feeling ill July 30 and was running a fever and turning "a modeling clay gray color" by July 31. The Altoms took Ethan to the hospital at 9 p.m. Aug. 1, according to Kelley's statement.

Ethan lay on the couch while he was ill, Kelley wrote, and soiled himself.

That narrative leaves out important facts, Carron said. Ethan and his brothers played with cousins outside during a family visit July 30, Carron said, and did not appear seriously ill until July 31.

The charges were filed before a final autopsy report was available, attorney Moss noted. "We don't even know the cause of death yet."

Moss said he will seek to move the case to another county because publicity will make it difficult to seat an unbiased jury.

Perry County sheriff's Capt. Delbert Riehn had little to say about Moss's statments on the case. "That is for him to take to court," Riehn said.

Carron defended Emily Altom's housekeeping, although he said he had never visited the single-wide mobile home where she, her husband and the three boys lived.

"People are treating my niece like she is a horrible criminal," Carron said. "She was not raised to live in a filthy environment."

The other two boys are currently in foster care.

rkeller@semissourian.com

335-6611 extension 126