Perry County child endangerment case closed after more than three years

ROLLA, Mo. — A criminal case that began in 2005 with an investigation into the death of a 4-year-old Perry County boy moved one step closer to a conclusion Monday when the boy's mother and stepfather pleaded guilty to three felonies.

Emily Altom and Michael Altom entered their pleas on child endangerment charges before Judge Tracy L. Storie in the Phelps County Courthouse. Storie noted that Perry County Prosecuting Attorney Thomas Hoeh filed a dismissal of voluntary manslaughter charges against the Altoms but passed on accepting the dismissal until sentencing.

Storie ordered the Altoms to return to Rolla on March 16 for sentencing. Hoeh is recommending probation and said in court he would accept a suspended imposition of sentence.

The felonies each carry a maximum sentence of seven years in prison. Storie warned both Emily Altom and Michael Altom he is not bound by Hoeh's recommendation.

Storie ordered a sentencing assessment report for both Altoms.

ELIZABETH DODD ~ edodd@semissourian.comEmily Altom, of Perry County, left, pleads guilty to three counts of endangering the welfare of child next to her attorney, Allen Moss, in a plea hearing Monday at the Phelps County Courthouse.

The hearing before Storie was the first court action in the case since December 2005, when the Altoms were ordered to stand trial following a preliminary hearing in Perryville, Mo. The case was moved to Rolla, Mo., on a change of venue.

Following the hearing, the Altom's attorneys, Allen Moss and Wayne Keller, declined to say much. Moss did say he expects the sentencing assessment to show the Altoms should not be incarcerated. "It is our hope they will receive a suspended imposition of sentence in this matter."

A suspended imposition of sentence would mean the charges are removed from the Altom's record if they complete the standard five years of probation.

Emily and Michael Altom were originally charged in September 2005 following the death of Ethan Patrick Williams, Emily Altom's son and Michael Altom's stepson, at Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital in St. Louis. Ethan died Aug. 25, 2005, of a virulent strain of antibiotic resistant Staphylococcus after 25 days in intensive care.

The voluntary manslaughter charge, based on allegations the Altoms had neglected to seek timely medical care for Ethan, was dropped because evidence developed since the preliminary hearing raised doubts, Hoeh said after the hearing.

The germ, known as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA for short, is extremely tough to treat. Ethan suffered from an infection in a leg that had spread to his bloodstream and lungs. He was sent by air ambulance to Cardinal Glennon after about a dozen hours in Perry County Memorial Hospital, where doctors treated his symptoms until he developed severe breathing difficulties.

"I felt it was the right thing to do because I could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that their actions contributed or caused the death," Hoeh said.

Investigators from the Missouri Children's Division and the Perry County Sheriff's Department visited the Altom's rural Perry County mobile home days after Ethan was hospitalized. In reports filed with the agency and the courts, those investigators described piled filth in the home including immense stacks of dirty dishes and food debris, beer cans and wine cooler bottles littering the floor and mingled with other garbage and an overwhelming stench of animal feces and urine.

One child endangerment charge was filed for each of the three children living in the home at the time. Emily and Michael had custody of Ethan and an older brother, the sons of Emily Altom and Danny Wayne Williams of Perryville, as well as a child born from their marriage. Since the charges were filed, the older boy has been cared for by his father and the younger child has been in the care of Emily Altom's mother.

Storie conducted separate plea hearings for each of the Altoms. He asked a standard series of questions, including whether they understood the charges, understood they rights and whether they were responsible for the unsafe and unsanitary conditions in their home.

Both answered that they understood and that they were guilty in hearings lasting about 10 minutes for each defendant.

As part of probation, Hoeh said he expects the Altoms will be ordered to take part in parenting classes and they must submit to periodic inspections of their home.

"The idea behind probation is to help the probationer successfully complete their time," Hoeh said.

rkeller@semissourian.com

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