Man is charged in baby's death

January 08, 2007|by KAREN HANNA

A 20-year-old Hagerstown man was charged Sunday in the death of a 4-month-old boy who died Saturday at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.

Floyd Edward Bingaman, of 17308 Amber Drive in Hagerstown, was ordered held without bail during a bond hearing late Sunday in Washington County District Court.

Bingaman faces charges that include first-degree murder and child abuse resulting in death. The first-degree murder charge carries the possibility of the death penalty.

Justice Calvin Stotler, who lived with his mother near Hagerstown, was taken by ambulance to Washington County Hospital with significant head injuries, police said. The hospital notified police of possible child abuse at 2 a.m. Friday, and the baby was flown to The John Hopkins Hospital, where doctors confirmed that he had been abused, police said.

Justice was pronounced dead Saturday at 1:20 p.m., according to the press release.

Bingaman was the boyfriend of the baby's mother, but he was not the baby's father, Sheriff's Department Lt. Mark Knight said.

"He was with the baby, yes," at the time the alleged abuse occurred, Knight said.

Bingaman was arrested Sunday night after police interviewed him at the Sheriff's Department, Knight said.

Knight said police believe the alleged abuse occurred at the mother's residence, but he said he would not release how much time elapsed between the alleged abuse and the time someone called for an ambulance. During the bond hearing, the court commissioner said the alleged abuse occurred on or about Thursday.

"They were at the mother's residence, and somebody at the mother's residence called," Knight said.

Knight said police expected the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore to complete its autopsy of the baby today.

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