A Marion County, Tenn., man convicted of second-degree murder in the death of his 3-month-old son is set to be sentenced Tuesday in Jasper.
Christopher E. Russell was convicted by a jury in August of second-degree murder and aggravated child abuse in the battering death of Colin Russell.
Russell's sentencing was scheduled for September but a conflict forced the hearing to be reset for 9 a.m CDT Tuesday, Assistant District Attorney Steve Strain said Thursday.
Russell was named a person of interest early in the investigation that began June 17, 2012, when the infant stopped breathing at his Sequatchie home. The baby was taken to Grandview Medical Center in Jasper, then transferred to Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville.
Prosecutors and investigators went to Vanderbilt to interview the doctor who treated Colin before the baby died June 23, 2012, after the family decided to discontinue life support. Russell wasn't charged until August 2014 when he was arrested on a fugitive-from-justice warrant in Whitfield County, Ga.
After a three-day trial before Circuit Court Judge Thomas "Rusty" Graham, jurors found Russell guilty after a little less than two hours of deliberation. Testimony came from investigators, the baby's mother, Leah Collins, other family members and medical officials. Russell chose not to testify.
A 12-page autopsy report by associate medical examiner Dr. Bridget B. Eutenier, who also testified in Russell's August trial, listed the cause of death as homicide. The report noted contusions on Colin's head, injuries that included blood clotting in several areas of his brain and "extensive" hemorrhaging in the optic nerves of both eyes.
Colin also had at least 15 fractured ribs and a fractured right clavicle. Officials also found a ligament injury on his spine that appeared to have been healing, the report states.
Russell remains in custody at the Marion County Justice Center in Jasper.
Contact staff writer Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569.