Police: 911 call placed hours after victim's death
Editor's Note: What follows contains graphic testimony.
NORWICH – Gruesome details surrounding the death of a young girl were revealed at the felony hearing for alleged rapist and murderer, James Brower, on Tuesday.
The prosecution called four witnesses, the 911 call was played in open court, and Chenango County District Attorney Joseph McBride presented evidence in an attempt to show the Norwich Town Court Judge, James Fox, there is reasonable belief a felony was committed, and reasonable belief said defendant committed the felonies alleged.
It's alleged that Brower and his partner of 13 years, Tobias Rundstrom-Wooding, raped and killed 11-year-old Jacelyn O’Connor in the early morning hours of July 30, 2017.
“She is blue, and she is cold,” said Brower to the 911 dispatcher on the call that was played at the hearing. “She is not breathing. I just don’t understand. I’m shaking.”
Brower said he woke up at 9:30 a.m., drank coffee, did dishes, and spoke to his aunt on the phone before one of his sons told him that O’Connor was dead. It was said during investigator testimony that Brower said he thought his son was kidding because of, “the sense of humor he has.”
Brower told police he asked his sons again to wake O’Connor, as he “did not want her sleeping all day,” and that again he was told she was dead.
“At like 10:45 or 11 a.m. I went in to get her up,” said Brower on the 911 call. “I went in and found her, checked her breathing, rolled her over, then I called you.”
Brower maintained a calm demeanor during the majority of the phone call, testified police.
When asked if anyone else was in the bedroom with the victim, Brower said, “Absolutely not.”
New York State Police Investigator Jameison Tefft took the stand and described his portion of the investigation thus far.
Tefft explained, after clearing the home, he checked the bedroom to assess the scene.
“There was a lot of blood,” said Tefft, as he described the state of the victim. He described her clothing and her body position. He was asked by McBride if Brower made any mention of the blood on the 911 call, to which Tefft said Brower did not.
The investigator continued, “Rigor had set in, she had been rolled onto her back, her face was purple and eyes were swollen shut. She was in pink fuzzy pajama pants. There was a lot of blood. A lot of blood was on the bed as well. I asked for backup and the Chenango County Sheriff’s Office responded.”
Tefft explained Brower was placed in a police car, but was not under arrest at that time. “He was calm, no emotion at all,” said Tefft. “Unusually calm.”
“The night before, he [Brower] said they ate and it seemed like a normal night. He said he was asleep by 1 a.m. He said his partner Tobias was sleeping on the large couch in the living room and Jacelyn was sleeping on the smaller couch. Three others were in back bedrooms,” said Tefft. “He told me he woke up in the morning and was very detailed about having coffee, doing the dishes, and phone call to his aunt. At 10:45 a.m., he said he went to the bathroom and his son came and told him that Jacelyn was dead. He said his son tells a lot of bad jokes. After he did go into the room, he woke Tobias before calling 911 at 11:13 a.m.”
McBride asked if it was unusual to wait that long before calling 911.
“Extremely unusual,” said Tefft. “He [Brower] had a calm demeanor, rather than the usual: highly excited, emotional, hard to understand.”
Tefft testified Brower told him Tobias had said Jocelyn said she was “cold deep inside her” in the middle of the night and she moved from the small couch into a back bedroom.
Brower told police that O’Connor visits every summer and spends time riding horses, swimming, and lately was exploring looking for painted rocks.
It was then noted for the record that Brower and Rundstrom-Wooding’s statements were “almost identical.”
Provisional autopsy results listed asphyxiation, neck compression, facial battery, vomiting/aspiration, recent sexual assault, hemorrhaging, and abrasions of the chin and knee.
Another NYSP investigator testified that a number of men were tested for DNA present on the victim. The DNA conclusion was that Rundstrom-Wooding was a “major contributor.”
A third NYSP investigator said that Brower told him that his children were responsible.
“Did it strike you as strange that he would throw his kids under the bus?” asked McBride. The investigator said yes.
Testimony also revealed that Brower said his partner was impotent, despite the DNA results.
A computer investigator with the state police testified that after a search of a computer, not only was child porn said to be found, but 21 Google searches relating to how much Seroquel was needed for one to overdose.
“Put yourself in an innocent person’s shoes,” said McBride to the court before the conclusion of the hearing. “When being processed, Brower said to police, ‘Please just kill me.’ That shows the defendant’s guilty mindset.”
John Cameron, attorney for Brower, said, “There is no question that this is a horrible tragedy for the family and the community. But I have not heard anything that would directly link my client to this rape and murder.”
Judge Fox determined there was enough evidence presented to transfer the case to Chenango County Court.
Both Brower and his co-defendant are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law.
NORWICH – Gruesome details surrounding the death of a young girl were revealed at the felony hearing for alleged rapist and murderer, James Brower, on Tuesday.
The prosecution called four witnesses, the 911 call was played in open court, and Chenango County District Attorney Joseph McBride presented evidence in an attempt to show the Norwich Town Court Judge, James Fox, there is reasonable belief a felony was committed, and reasonable belief said defendant committed the felonies alleged.
It's alleged that Brower and his partner of 13 years, Tobias Rundstrom-Wooding, raped and killed 11-year-old Jacelyn O’Connor in the early morning hours of July 30, 2017.
“She is blue, and she is cold,” said Brower to the 911 dispatcher on the call that was played at the hearing. “She is not breathing. I just don’t understand. I’m shaking.”
Brower said he woke up at 9:30 a.m., drank coffee, did dishes, and spoke to his aunt on the phone before one of his sons told him that O’Connor was dead. It was said during investigator testimony that Brower said he thought his son was kidding because of, “the sense of humor he has.”
Brower told police he asked his sons again to wake O’Connor, as he “did not want her sleeping all day,” and that again he was told she was dead.
“At like 10:45 or 11 a.m. I went in to get her up,” said Brower on the 911 call. “I went in and found her, checked her breathing, rolled her over, then I called you.”
Brower maintained a calm demeanor during the majority of the phone call, testified police.
When asked if anyone else was in the bedroom with the victim, Brower said, “Absolutely not.”
New York State Police Investigator Jameison Tefft took the stand and described his portion of the investigation thus far.
Tefft explained, after clearing the home, he checked the bedroom to assess the scene.
“There was a lot of blood,” said Tefft, as he described the state of the victim. He described her clothing and her body position. He was asked by McBride if Brower made any mention of the blood on the 911 call, to which Tefft said Brower did not.
The investigator continued, “Rigor had set in, she had been rolled onto her back, her face was purple and eyes were swollen shut. She was in pink fuzzy pajama pants. There was a lot of blood. A lot of blood was on the bed as well. I asked for backup and the Chenango County Sheriff’s Office responded.”
Tefft explained Brower was placed in a police car, but was not under arrest at that time. “He was calm, no emotion at all,” said Tefft. “Unusually calm.”
“The night before, he [Brower] said they ate and it seemed like a normal night. He said he was asleep by 1 a.m. He said his partner Tobias was sleeping on the large couch in the living room and Jacelyn was sleeping on the smaller couch. Three others were in back bedrooms,” said Tefft. “He told me he woke up in the morning and was very detailed about having coffee, doing the dishes, and phone call to his aunt. At 10:45 a.m., he said he went to the bathroom and his son came and told him that Jacelyn was dead. He said his son tells a lot of bad jokes. After he did go into the room, he woke Tobias before calling 911 at 11:13 a.m.”
McBride asked if it was unusual to wait that long before calling 911.
“Extremely unusual,” said Tefft. “He [Brower] had a calm demeanor, rather than the usual: highly excited, emotional, hard to understand.”
Tefft testified Brower told him Tobias had said Jocelyn said she was “cold deep inside her” in the middle of the night and she moved from the small couch into a back bedroom.
Brower told police that O’Connor visits every summer and spends time riding horses, swimming, and lately was exploring looking for painted rocks.
It was then noted for the record that Brower and Rundstrom-Wooding’s statements were “almost identical.”
Provisional autopsy results listed asphyxiation, neck compression, facial battery, vomiting/aspiration, recent sexual assault, hemorrhaging, and abrasions of the chin and knee.
Another NYSP investigator testified that a number of men were tested for DNA present on the victim. The DNA conclusion was that Rundstrom-Wooding was a “major contributor.”
A third NYSP investigator said that Brower told him that his children were responsible.
“Did it strike you as strange that he would throw his kids under the bus?” asked McBride. The investigator said yes.
Testimony also revealed that Brower said his partner was impotent, despite the DNA results.
A computer investigator with the state police testified that after a search of a computer, not only was child porn said to be found, but 21 Google searches relating to how much Seroquel was needed for one to overdose.
“Put yourself in an innocent person’s shoes,” said McBride to the court before the conclusion of the hearing. “When being processed, Brower said to police, ‘Please just kill me.’ That shows the defendant’s guilty mindset.”
John Cameron, attorney for Brower, said, “There is no question that this is a horrible tragedy for the family and the community. But I have not heard anything that would directly link my client to this rape and murder.”
Judge Fox determined there was enough evidence presented to transfer the case to Chenango County Court.
Both Brower and his co-defendant are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law.
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