'Something horrific happened': Detective describes scene in day one of Dylan Castimore sentencing
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Editor’s note: This story is graphic in nature. Reader discretion is advised. The story also mentions mental health issues or suicide. If you need help or know someone who does, please call 988, the national Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, available for 24/7, free and confidential support. If you're in danger, call 911 or the South Dakota Domestic Violence Hotline at 1.800.430.SAFE (7233).
A motor vehicle crash.
A fall from a decent height, at least two or three stories.
Inflicted injuries from abuse.
Those are the typical three scenarios Minnehaha County Coroner Dr. Kenneth Snell said he sees consistent with the amount and kind of injuries 8-week-old Daxton Castimore experienced at the time of his death, and up to potentially a week to 10 days before.
But baby Daxton hadn’t been involved in a motor vehicle crash. And he hadn’t fallen from a two- or three-story building.
“That, plus the eyes, are what told me this was an inflicted type case,” Snell said to a full court room Thursday.
More: How a judge decided not to give Dylan Castimore life for killing his 8-week-old
The moment, like many heard Thursday, was graphic in nature as the Minnehaha County State’s Attorney’s office and defense attorneys for Dylan Castimore argued about the character of Daxton’s father, who faces sentencing for his son’s 2021 homicide this week. His attorneys included Traci Smith, Kylie Beck and John O’Malley, the IV.
Dylan, now in his mid-20s, and of Sioux Falls, pleaded guilty in February to first degree manslaughter and abuse or cruelty to a minor, lesser charges from his initial ones, which included first degree murder and aggravated battery of an infant. The sentencing hearing was expected to continue at 8:30 a.m. Friday and wrap up Friday afternoon.
More: Sioux Falls man pleads guilty to killing infant son in 2021
The case once faced the argument of the death penalty before the plea, one of two or three capital punishment cases in the area within the last four years. Now that plea means at minimum, Dylan will have a mandatory sentence of 65 years. But, what’s at stake in the two-day sentencing hearing is whether he should have the option to eventually be released or whether he should be behind bars for life.
The moment’s been nearly three years in the making, since Dylan was arrested in November 2021. Letters of support have been sent in by Dylan’s family for the judge to review, as have letters of victim impact statements by those directly affected by Daxton’s death (some of which included letters from first responders, nurses and a detective – an often rare action taken by professionals who see trauma on a regular basis, Judge Camela Theeler said).
It was a sign to all this case was above the norm. This case was different.
This case also wasn’t going to a jury, which is one reason Theeler said the sentencing process was expected to last two days, along with new evidence to be presented by prosecutors that the defense had a right to cross-examine. Theeler, though, would be the final determination of Dylan’s character at large, and would weigh how to hand down that sentence.
'Kids have new hearts. They don't go bad.'
Prosecutors, which included Jennifer Hynek, Isaac Bouman, Drew Degroot, Amy Folsom and Meghan McCauley, called five witnesses Thursday and were expected to call at least one more Friday morning. The defense was expected to call at least two, but did not.
The attorneys started Thursday with the Sioux Falls firefighter first on scene, then the Sioux Falls detective who arrested Dylan, followed by Snell and a walkthrough of Snell’s autopsy report, including images of Daxton’s autopsy. The first day ended with testimony from the two Avera Health emergency room nurses, who first responded when Daxton arrived and the last to hold him in a tiny blanket as his heart finally stopped responding to the medication meant to help it keep beating.
“Kids have new hearts. They don’t go bad,” firefighter Riley McManus testified first Thursday morning.
McManus was first on the scene that day at an apartment an apartment in the 3400 block of North Fourth Avenue, after Dylan called police and said his son was not breathing or responding anymore. McManus had been a firefighter with the department for more than two years at that point, with years of training to do CPR differently for a pediatric patient than an adult, he said.
If a child isn’t breathing, the issue is usually respiratory related, but this wasn’t that, he said as he described the methodology behind CPR pressure on the heart of an adult versus a child. Daxton was “waxy in color,” with fluid coming out of his nose. But he wasn’t stiff, the fluids weren’t dry. Whatever happened to the infant was recent, and McManus said that meant there might still be a chance for survival, despite "obvious signs of death we know we can’t control.”
He had started CPR immediately, according to his testimony and body camera footage shown in court (footage the defense tried to object to showing because it seemed inflammatory and media was in the room. The state argued the footage spoke to how the situation truly unfolded and that couldn't be ignored in what's a public hearing. Theeler ruled in the state’s favor). And CPR continued, along with a shock to his chest, until and after baby Daxton was taken to the emergency room by paramedics.
But Daxton’s breath and pulse never returned. And McManus wiped his eyes with a tissue, closed them and took deep breathes as the footage played while he was on the stand.
Dylan could be heard on video stating Daxton had choked on formula when he stopped responding, and that’s when the baby’s rib cage had collapsed.
Castimore's history comes into play
Dylan’s head remained mostly in his cuffed hands throughout McManus’ testimony, the video and when the prosecutors brought in their next witness, Detective Pat Mertes. Mertes has assisted on more than 50 homicides, and has led the investigation of at least 15, in his 16 years of experience overall, he said.
He spent much of his time on the stand walking through the investigative process, the 911 call Dylan made the day his son died, Dylan’s previous arrests involving assault and a DUI, and evidence from the more than 2,000 calls made by Dylan at the Minnehaha County Jail in the time since his arrest.
Some of those calls, played in court, included a moment when Dylan told his mother he was glad he had assaulted an ex-girlfriend, because the next boyfriend would have done worse, and a moment where he made up a second child with a girlfriend, whom Mertes said by all accounts did not exist.
A moment included Dylan stating he had wished he hadn’t had a baby with Daxton’s mother. And another included Dylan telling his mother, “I’m probably going to get life anyways because I’m a man,” adding Daxton’s mother would get up and give a “sob story” to the court.
Prosecutors asked Mertes, “Is Daxton’s death a sob story?”
“No, it is it not,” he stated.
Mertes also walked through text messages between Dylan and a probation officer, showing Dylan had been attending mental health court, taking medication and been trying to maintain employment after his previous arrests. But those messages had also shown Dylan had not taken advantage of the requests by the probation officer to take three life classes instead of two to help keep his life in check, Mertes testified.
“Almost immediately,” officers knew a crime had happened, Mertes said about his arrival to the apartment that day.
Multiple blood stains, proven to be Daxton’s through testing and analysis, had appeared on four walls within the apartment (including the ceiling), though a couple spots were unclear and could have been tied to transfer from another person trying to clean up in the moment, Mertes testified. The defense argued maybe the stains had come from Dylan trying to follow instructions given to him by dispatchers as he waited for help to arrive and tried to do chest compressions on Daxton himself.
One. Two. Three. Four. One. Two. Three. Four.
“Daxton. Please, wake up, baby,” Dylan says in audio from the police call played in court, as dispatchers counted for Dylan as he was instructed to place two fingers to his son’s chest and start compressions. It's unclear if he followed through with child compressions or adult compressions.
One. Two. Three. Four. One. Two. Three. Four.
Or maybe the blood droplets on the ceiling came from a time when Dylan may have playfully tossed his child up a little too hard to make him laugh during a separate scenario and Daxton hit his face on the ceiling by accident, the defense argued.
More: Sioux Falls father who allegedly killed 8-week-old son indicted on more charges
Mertes testified Dylan was quiet and cried at times during their first interaction and interview at the hospital, after Daxton’s death.
“He didn’t seem as emotional as one would be,” Mertes stated. Meanwhile, nurses testified Daxton’s mother made it to the doorway of Daxton’s ER room, let out a scream and collapsed on the floor.
The defense argued maybe Dylan had been in shock, especially after just attempting to give CPR to his child. They also argued Dylan had a rough upbringing, and moments in his life when he could not express emotions properly, adding a person can’t predict how someone may react or act in a traumatic moment.
But the stories or reasoning Dylan gave police about Daxton’s injuries changed three times, one of which “appeared extremely hard to believe,” and was “cause for concern,” Mertes stated. That was the story of how a cat, five days prior, was allegedly spooked by a dog in the apartment building and jumped, landing on Daxton’s face and causing significant bruising to one of his eyes.
But there was no video evidence of such a scene unfolding in the building, Mertes said. He stated at one point prior to Daxton’s death, CPS had been called in relation to the cat attack, but CPS never showed. It’s unclear why.
McManus shook his head from the gallery as he listened to Mertes.
And it was video and audio from the cameras in and around the building that captured sounds from outside Dylan’s door, depicting what may have led up to the baby’s death, Mertes said. The sounds included a baby crying, thuds and slaps, a moment of quiet when Mertes said he assumed Daxton may have been unconscious, and then more crying along with a male voice, stating “wake up,” often. The audio unfolded in real time, while video footage was at half speed, he stated.
While the state asked to play an edited video, with the audio synched, for the court, Theeler ruled on behalf of the defense, stating the playthrough wasn’t necessary for sentencing, but she had heard and watched the unedited video at least 10 times prior to the hearing and had a “good idea” of what was on there.
There were 7 minutes between the last cry heard and when Dylan called 911, Mertes testified.
'Something horrific had happened to Daxton'
And as Mertes questioned Dylan again, following his arrest, he pressed for answers, showing Dylan the audio, as well as pictures of the scene and of Daxton.
That’s when Dylan’s story began to change, and he began admitting his actions. Mertes stated, however, that Dylan did not confess. A confession accounts for every injury made, an admission does not, he said.
“It’s hard for someone to continue to deny what’s factual in front of them,” Mertes said. “… Something horrific had happened to Daxton.”
But Daxton was not malnourished in any form, and his body was healthy and in good condition, prior to the injuries, nurses and Snell testified. And Dylan wasn’t under the influence or showing signs of a mental health issue during Mertes’ line of questioning, he testified. Mertes said Dylan understood the gravity of the questions he was asked.
The defense tried to request the judge not show images of Daxton’s body, for similar reasons made to not show the video of him getting CPR. The state argued once more that what was depicted helped the court understand what actions were taken to save Daxton as well as what actions may have caused his death.
When the prosecution argued the images showed the reality of “a baby beaten to death,” and that the mother (who was in attendance) had just as much of a right to ask that the images be shown as Dylan did to ask they be not, the judge ruled in the state’s favor.
Daxton's injuries told a different story
As Snell walked through body images of Daxton, he reiterated the cause of death: numerous traumatic injuries, including head injuries due to assault and some tied to CPR.
Dylan did not look up at the pictures, mostly, and kept his palms to his head. Daxton’s mother hung her head, as a supportive member from the state’s attorney’s office rubbed her back.
Snell has performed more than 300 infant autopsies in his career, with an average of four child homicides a year in his role as the forensic pathologist for all of eastern South Dakota.
Daxton had three contusions, or blunt force trauma and bruising, to his forehead, bruises to one of his ears consistent with injuries inflicted to children, an X-shaped fracture to his skull on the right side, and a 10-cenimeeter fracture on his skull to his left side, Snell testified.
He also had three contusions to the back of his head, and multiple contusions to his chest, abdomen area, left and right side, along with a skull fracture near his eyebrow, where the cat allegedly jumped on him, causing a black eye. That last one was an injury that showed either something else happened at or about the same time the cat, if it existed, landed on Daxton, or it was inflicted trauma, Snell said. He could not prove one way or another, stating skull fractures are impossible to date because of the way they heal.
Internally, the contusions ran deeper, with hemorrhaging in Daxton’s brain.
More: Sioux Falls father of 8-week-old baby pleads 'not guilty' to son's death
Snell also performed an X-ray, which identified rib fractures toward the back of the infant's body that were in the early stages of healing, confirming those fractures happened seven to 10 days prior to Daxton’s death, while other rib fractures to the side of his rib cage and a broken clavicle were possibly caused by medical intervention through CPR.
A person would have to be using their knuckles to strike someone to cause the kind of force seen to Daxton’s chest, Snell testified. The pressure wasn’t consistent with CPR.
The defense asked how Snell could make his conclusions without bias, knowing part of his job was to receive information from police and other medical professionals at the time and knowing that the information, like Daxton choking on formula, was incorrect.
They asked if Snell had even heard of or spoken to Dylan prior to his exam of Daxton.
Snell responded by stating, “I don’t even know who Dylan is,” as Dylan sat across the courtroom at the defense table in jail stripes and cuffs.
And Snell reiterated his entire role is to take the information given, and determine whether the body agrees with the story told.
In Daxton’s case, it did not, he said.
A nurse stands her ground
Last testimony included then-charge nurse Carter Gronseth and primary nurse Tegan McManaman.
Gronseth said her first indication something was off was the amount of bruising on Daxton’s body, in various stages of healing, and the lack of information she had as she was looking for ways to reverse Daxton’s cardiac arrest.
Daxton’s chest wall wasn’t stable. It wasn’t normal.
“I hadn’t had to hold an infant’s chest together in my hands to keep it from falling,” she said as she walked through the events from that night.
She was a nurse who regularly saw children and infants in the ER, and the aftermath of children who didn’t make it, she said. A nurse rarely forgets the wail of pain from a parent when they lose a child. She’s even seen a parent try to carry the body of a loved one to their car in the aftermath, she said.
Daxton’s parents were hardly in the room. His mother collapsed, and Dylan was being questioned by police, as authorities regulated who could go in and out, Gronseth said.
More: Father of 8-week-old arrested for murder in Sioux Falls, police say
But the only thing continuing to make Daxton’s heart beat was the medicine given, epinephrine, to try to revive him. At one point, even CPR was starting to do more harm than good, McManaman stated. They had to ask the parents for permission to stop, they said.
As McManaman described the bruising she saw, she cried on the stand and outlined how the instability in his chest, and the way his ribs moved, altered how they administered CPR.
Dylan, at one point that night, asked about his son, and McManaman told him, “I’m keeping him alive with my compressions.”
And in the last few moments of Daxton’s life, Dylan asked if he could hold his son.
McManaman refused, as police also signaled a denial by shaking their heads, she said.
Instead, McManaman wrapped Daxton in a small blanket, held him and rocked him close as nurses laid their hands on McManaman and lullaby music played in the background. They had to wait for the epinephrine, which was causing his heart to still flutter, to leave his body and give comfort during the last minutes of his life, she said.
The defense asked why McManaman made such a decision. Didn’t Dylan have a right to say goodbye? What about the nurse’s oath to do no harm?
McManaman responded by stating her priority to do no harm was to Daxton.
“He was safer with me,” she said.
Dylan didn’t fight the nurse's rejection.
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Detective describes 8-week-old's death as 'horrific' in Castimore sentencing
