Gatson seeks dismissal of murder indictment

Dameon Gatson didn't cause the death of his child, his lawyer says. The decision to take her off life support did.

Defense lawyer Arthur Martinez raises that issue in a motion to dismiss the first-degree murder indictment against Gatson in Hennepin County District Court. Gatson is accused of paying a friend $200 to beat his pregnant ex-girlfriend, causing her to go into premature labor.

"She did not lose her life as a direct cause of defendant's actions and, therefore, defendant is not guilty of murder," Martinez wrote.

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman called the motion "preposterous and sickening." He said his office has 10 days to respond to the motion.

Gatson and Paul A. Petersen, both of Hopkins, are charged with first-degree murder, second-degree intentional murder and first-degree assault.

The complaint says that on April 21, 2007, Petersen knocked on the door of a St. Louis Park apartment and asked for Shyloe Linde, who was six months pregnant with Gatson's child. When Linde came to the door Petersen punched her two or three times in the stomach, according to the document.

Linde went into labor and gave birth to a girl named Destiny Gatson the following day.

Destiny weighed less than 2 pounds and had significant health problems, including bleeding on the brain. She died May 1.

Martinez argues that Gatson is innocent and didn't hire Petersen to conduct the attack. Further, he says, the child did not die until she was taken off life support.

A person "on life support is not considered dead unless the individual has sustained irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory functions or irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including the brain stem," Martinez wrote in the motion filed Thursday.

Hennepin County Medical Examiner Andrew Baker testified to the grand jury in July 2007 that Destiny's death was a homicide. But he didn't say it was a result of the assault. "He ruled her death was a complication of prematurity," Martinez wrote.

A major factor

Doctors told Linde that Destiny would have cerebral palsy and would not be able to do anything for herself. This information was a major factor in the decision to remove Destiny from life support, Martinez wrote.

"Cerebral palsy may result in an inconvenience when it comes to raising a child, but it is manageable," he wrote. "Due to Shyloe's unwillingness to care for a child with special needs, Destiny lost her life."

Joe Daly, a professor at Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul, said fetal rights are an unsettled area of the law.

"This whole field is highly contested because it's mixed up with the issue of abortion. This kind of case can bring out a lot of deep, deep emotions, so it's hard to think through on a legal basis," he said.

If the case goes to trial, expect expert testimony on whether the child could have lived or whether the mother took her off life support because of the cerebral palsy.

While the courts have held that it isn't necessary for a defendant's acts to be the sole cause of death, the act must start a chain of events which substantially contributes to the death. Martinez argued that in this case the chain was broken by the decision to remove her from life support.

"Destiny suffered severe brain hemorrhaging and brain damage, but she certainly was not brain-dead by any definition; she was able to move around," Martinez wrote.

Cessation of the brain results in the body being unresponsive, with no movement, no reflexes and no response to any stimulus.

The case is set for trial Sept. 8. Gatson and Petersen are being held on $750,000 bail each.

Rochelle Olson • 612-673-1747