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September 3, 2009

Man gets first degree murder charge

Girl dies of shaken baby syndrome.

Julie Yates

A Delaware County man has been charged with first degree murder for shaking a child to death.

Roger L. Dry, 35, Kansas, allegedly shook to death 2-year-old Emily Hernandez at a residence on East 541 Road in Delaware County near Kansas.

The child was the daughter of Mary Bartleson, Dry’s girlfriend. The morning of Aug. 31, Bartleson left Hernandez in the care of Dry while she took her other child to school.

According to a press release from the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office, Dry became angry with the child when she would not stop crying. Dry claimed he spanked Hernandez and shook her.

Dry was in the shower when Bartleson returned from taking her other child to school. Bartleson found Hernandez unresponsive on the bed and called emergency services.

The sheriff’s office received the 911 call at approximately 9 a.m., according to Captain Ron Teel of the sheriff’s office.

Oaks first responders, a Cherokee Nation ambulance and a Delaware County Deputy arrived on scene. The child was transported by Air Evac to St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa.

Hospital officials identified the child as a victim of shaken baby syndrome. Hernandez suffered severe cerebral edema and shock due to Dry’s action. She was pronounced dead Sept. 1.

Dry was placed under arrest on unrelated arrest warrants issued from the Town of Kansas. Dry was charged with the first degree murder of Hernandez. His bond was set at $1 million, and he remains in the Delaware County Jail.

The case is under investigation by the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office, Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and Office of Chief Medical Examiner.

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