The attorney for an Alpine man told a jury Sept. 5 that his client had a “bad stumble” while holding his girlfriend’s toddler and he fell on top of the toddler, causing his fatal injuries in 2016.
But the prosecutor told a jury that Brett Brown, 31, killed Lucas Orlando as part of a pattern of child abuse.
Attorneys gave contrasting pictures of how the 20-month-old toddler was injured in Brown’s condominium in the 2100 block of Arnold Way in Brown’s apartment in Alpine on Jan. 11, 2016.
“That man took Lucas’ life. He hadn’t even had his second birthday,” said Deputy District Attorney Chantal De Mauregne. “This was a man who Lucas trusted,” said the prosecutor. “He became a father figure for Lucas.”
The boy had a fractured skull and a broken right leg when paramedics rushed him to a hospital where he later died. De Mauregne said the boy’s day care operator told the boy’s mother, Renee Fournier, 30, she noticed bruises on the boy.
“Hold him accountable to what he did to that little boy,” De Mauregne said to jurors.
Brown is charged with murder and assault upon a child. He has pleaded not guilty.
Brown’s attorney, Stephen Cline, told jurors the injuries took place while Brown was holding the boy. He had “a bad stumble” and fell on Lucas, causing his injuries, he said. Brown called 911 at 1:43 p.m.
Cline said Brown was never alone in the apartment with the boy as he was also taking care of his two other children and Fournier’s other child while he was on leave from the Navy. Brown is divorced and met Fournier on a dating website.
Cline said Fournier moved in with Brown after dating him some months. He said the couple converted a dining room into a bedroom and let the four children sleep in the condo’s only bedroom.
Cline said Fournier was a big supporter of Brown even after he was charged with murder, but “her tune changed” after she was arrested and charged with child endangerment.
The defense attorney said Fournier signed a contract of cooperation with the DA’s office and her guilty plea to child endangerment will be reduced to a misdemeanor at sentencing. Fournier testified against Brown on Friday, and she remains free on $100,000 bond. She faces up to one year in jail.
Sheriff’s deputies found a piece of black duct tape in the fireplace which did not burn. De Mauregne said the boy’s DNA was found on it along with Brown’s fingerprints. Cline said Brown put some duct tape on the boy’s mouth, but it didn’t work and he threw it away. Cline told jurors the “appropriate verdict” is not guilty.
The first witness was a sheriff’s deputy who testified Brown “seemed confused initially, as if in shock.” He said Brown told him he found the boy on the floor after hearing a thud. A social worker later told the deputy that “prolonged physical abuse” was suspected.
“He told me the child had been jumping on the couch,” said paramedic Greg O’Gornan.
The paramedic said Brown was “calm and detached” and he suspected there was child trauma. O’Gornan said he had never had a call in which a child suffered such injuries by “falling off a couch.”
Brown remains in jail without bail.
