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| Daniel Capeheart |
Posted: Friday, 01 May 2009 2:15PM
Charges stand against father of boy who killed himself
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MARKHAM, Ill. (AP) -- An south suburban father charged with the domestic battery of his 12-year-old son did not have the charges dropped at a court hearing Friday, despite the boy's suicide last month.
The attorney for Daniel Capeheart, 31, had predicted after Menyarri Capehart's hanging death that the charges would be dropped. The boy hanged himself April 12 at the family home on Paris Road in Olympia Fields.
His father had allegedly punched him in the face and stomach two weeks earlier, according to charges filed by the Cook County State's Attorney's office on March 30.
Asked whether the case would likely be dropped following the death of the state's main witness, defense attorney Bernard Shelton said the day after the boy's death, "I don't like to count my chickens, but that's what I expect to happen."
But during a brief hearing at the Markham courthouse Friday morning, Asst. State's Atty. Todd McCutcheon indicated his office intends to push on with the prosecution.
Speaking outside the courtroom, Shelton adopted a more cautious tone. "We're confident that once this case goes to trial my client will be cleared," he said.
Capehart was "struggling day by day" to deal with his son's death, Shelton added.
Wearing black jeans and a black shirt, and limping as he left the courthouse, an emotional Capehart said, "My son is dead and my family is heartbroken."
It is unclear whether Menyarri's mother, whom prosecutors say made the beating allegations against her husband, still plans to testify against him.
Capehart is next due in court June 30.
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Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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