Advertisement
District Attorney Gerald Fox said his office has received the autopsy report on Giovanni A. Roberts, who was 4 months old when he died Oct. 30, 2007.
Fox said he could not comment further on details of the case or release a copy of the autopsy report because it still is under review.
Roberts’ parents — Keith A. Roberts, 25, and Tarah E. Jasmer, 21, both of Black River Falls — told authorities Giovanni had been injured when he fell from his father’s arms and struck his head on a piece of furniture.
The parents brought him to Black River Memorial Hospital the evening of Oct. 29, 2007, according to Black River Falls police reports.
The infant was transferred by helicopter to Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center in La Crosse, where he died the next day.
Black River Falls Police Chief Don Gilberg said the autopsy report on Giovanni Roberts took several months due to the workload for the pathologists at University Hospital in Madison, which also does autopsies for the State Crime Lab and the Wisconsin Department of Justice.
The autopsy report was sent directly to the district attorney’s office, Gilberg said, and the police department did not receive a copy. He said the department has sent its investigation information to the district attorney’s office as well.
“As far as we know, we’ve completed our investigation to the point we could,” Gilberg said.
The case has been assigned to Assistant District Attorney Margaret Rewald, Fox said. He would not say when his office expects to conclude its review.
“Haste is not going to bring that child back,” Fox said. “We want to make sure we have all the information before we make a charging decision.”
Matthew Perenchio is editor of the Jackson County Chronicle.
