VERDICT UNDER ADVISEMENT FOLLOWING TRIAL IN DEATH OF 2-YEAR-OLD GIRL

JACKSON -- The 37 photographs from a 2-year-old's autopsy showed a multitude of bruises, all of which contributed toward her death last year, medical examiner Michael Zaricor said.

But during a trial Tuesday no one could be shown to be responsible for them.

"The prosecutor's office did the best it could with the evidence that was available," Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle said at the conclusion of Telly S. Caldwell's bench trial.

Caldwell, 23, is charged with the class A misdemeanor of child endangerment, which carries a maximum penalty of one year imprisonment. A verdict is expected within the next week from Judge Gary Kamp, who heard the trial.

Caldwell had known 2-year-old Desire Wims through her mother, Gwendolyn Wims of Sikeston. Wims, 22, and her daughter had usually spent two or three days a week at Caldwell's Cape Girardeau apartment for about three months prior to Desire's death on April 23, 1999. Caldwell and Wims had known each other for a year.

Caldwell told Kamp that the autopsy results surprised him.

"When the detectives showed me the pictures of the child, I was as shocked as they were," Caldwell said.

The autopsy showed multiple injuries that the girl had suffered over an extended time, said Zaricor, who works at the Mineral Area Regional Medical Center in Farmington.

Twenty or more bruises were found on her scalp, possibly the result of severe hair pulling, he said. A similar number of bruises were present on the back of Desire's legs. These "loop mark" injuries could have been from an electrical cord doubled up, he said.

Other bruises were found on the girl's face and back. Injuries on the legs were probably 2- to 4- weeks old, while Zaricor said the facial bruises were likely a few hours old.

Two areas of hemorrhaging in the girl's vaginal area and three small tears to the rectum were not seen by a physician at St. Francis Medical Center who originally examined the body.

Gwendolyn Wims told the court that neither she nor Caldwell had anything to do with her daughter's death, although both have said that Desire had been in their care during the last 48 hours of her life.

Wims had pled guilty to child endangerment earlier this year and was given a sentence of 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine by Kamp on March 23. But the jail term and $750 of the fine were suspended, and Wims was put on two years probation.

Caldwell suggested that Desire's injuries were received at Wims' mother's home in Sikeston.

In her court testimony, Wims agreed. She said she was often told that Desire had fallen or been in a fight when she went to pick her up.

Wims stated that the marks on the back of her daughter's legs came from a spanking that she had given on or about April 7. This was the only time she had spanked Desire, she said.

Caldwell said after he had noticed a bruise on Desire's ankle, he spoke to Wims about discipline. At the time Caldwell was employed in a counseling position at the Cottonwood Treatment Center in Cape Girardeau.

He advised Wims to use time outs rather than spanking, he said.

In a statement Wims had given to police last year, she said Caldwell yelled at her and her daughter regularly. In court on Tuesday, Wims said her statement was a lie, and she had felt under pressure to write it.

Caldwell also denied previous statements to police that he had punished Desire with time outs. He said that once he had slapped her hand away as she reached to touch a light socket, but that was his sole act of disciple.

Previous statements by Caldwell demonstrated that he had taken a parental role in Desire's life, and he should be held accountable, Swingle said.

Police detective David Sanders testified that Caldwell had told him about finding a severe bruise on Desire's back but decided not to take her to a hospital since the girl did not react when he touched it.

If anyone asked about the bruises on Desire's legs, Caldwell had told Wims to say that he was responsible, Sanders told the court.

Wims had told Caldwell about abuse she had suffered as a child from her parents, and Caldwell said he felt sorry for her, Sanders testified.

"He left the child continually in a house with a person he knew was beating the child," Swingle said.

Wims said she and her mother, Cleotha Washington, had given parental care to Desire, but Caldwell had not.

Nevertheless, Caldwell said he felt guilt about the girl's death. "I can't explain how much guilt I have, but it's not from anything I did personally," he told the court. "I just wish I could have done more to save her."

A sentence for Caldwell is expected within the next week from Kamp.