Perry County couple cleared of manslaughter in connection with 4-year-old's 2005 death

Manslaughter charges will be dropped against a Perry County couple who were charged more than three years ago with medical negligence in the death of a 4-year-old boy from a drug-resistant staph infection.

Emily and Michael Altom were charged with voluntary manslaughter and three counts each of felony child endangerment in early September 2005. Perry County Prosecuting Attorney Thomas Hoeh had alleged that Ethan Patrick Williams, Emily's son from a previous marriage, died because the Altoms delayed seeking treatment when he became ill in early August.

A joint stipulation filed by Hoeh and defense attorneys Allen Moss and Wayne Keller clears Emily and Michael Altom of responsibility for the death of Ethan Patrick Williams, who died Aug. 25, 2005.

"The State stipulates that defendants conduct did not result in the death of Ethan Williams and they were not responsible for the death of Ethan Williams," the paperwork filed with the Phelps County Circuit Clerk states. "Further, the state stipulates that said child's death was not related to the unsanitary conditions of the home as alleged in" three other felony charges against the Altoms.

The stipulation states that the Altoms intend to plead guilty to the child endangerment charges. Hoeh will recommend probation on those charges.

"I am convinced that I would not be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that what they did or failed to do caused the death of their son," Hoeh said in a telephone interview.

A preliminary hearing in the case took place in December 2005. The case was sent to Phelps County in south-central Missouri on a change of venue. Since that time, a series of depositions from doctors who treated Ethan and other experts showed that the staph infection, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, is a strong and deadly germ that can kill even with prompt and appropriate medical treatment, Moss said.

"By the time we were done with depositions, I believe there was little or no evidence that these parents were negligent in the medical care of Ethan or that they contributed to his death," Moss said.

Hoeh, Moss and Keller have asked for a hearing next Friday to finalize the plea deal, but they have not been told whether that will be possible.

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