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Mom decries probe of toddler's death
NASHUA — Monday marks the one-year anniversary of the death of 3-year-old Christian Jackson, whose mother is now speaking out about her frustration in the homicide case.
Although no arrests have been made, investigators maintain it is not a cold case.
“I am angry and I am aggravated,” Latoya Jackson, Christian's mother, told a reporter Friday. “This shouldn't take a year, it is just ridiculous. My family has been through hell and back.”
Christian, who spent time living at both of his parents' apartments, was visiting his father on Feb. 19, 2011, at 63 Chestnut St. when emergency personnel received a 911 call reporting the toddler was not breathing. The boy was pronounced dead the following morning at Southern New Hampshire Regional Medical Center.
His death was later determined to be from blunt-force trauma, and prosecutors classified it as a homicide. Details of the boy's injuries have still not been released.
“I can't elaborate on the injury, but it was extremely severe,” Assistant Attorney General Benjamin Agati said last week. “This was a lot of blunt force.”
Positive strides are being made and prosecutors investigating the murder say they are optimistic that justice will prevail for this innocent child.
“This case has not been cold. It is most definitely a priority, and it is still very active,” assured Agati.
Jackson says she is frustrated about the visible lack of progress being made. There are still many unanswered questions about what happened to Christian in the final moments of his life, she said.
“I think that even when I do find out what happened, it will probably still hurt just as much,” said Jackson, who plans on visiting her son's gravestone on Monday.
Any investigation involving young children and injuries requires a lot of details that must be reviewed thoroughly, explained Agati. At this point, he said, it is too early to speculate as to whether this was first- or second-degree murder. Investigators must first determine who inflicted the injuries and the intent, he added.
“We are still working on a few different aspects of this case. We have had many productive leads as recent as just this month,” Agati said, refusing to go into specifics or say whether any suspects have been identified. “Everybody from the investigation team feels that progress is being made at a good pace. We are hopeful for a conclusion.”
Many people have been interviewed, including relatives on both sides of the family, he said, adding there has been cooperation.
Christian, who would have celebrated his fourth birthday on Jan. 12, was the son of Jackson and Shawn Ganley, both of Nashua.
Following his son's death, Ganley, 30, told MyFoxBoston.com that when Christian arrived at his house, the boy was not acting his usual self and almost immediately went to sleep. Later, the boy began gasping for air, and Ganley tried to perform CPR on the child, he told the news station.
“I wish I knew all the answers,” Ganley said at the time. “... I want everyone to stop pointing the finger at me.”
Jackson said Friday she does not know who inflicted the injuries on her son, but said she holds Ganley responsible for not taking care of Christian that day.
“He should have protected my son. I blame him, and I will never forgive him,” she said of Ganley. “I don't want to ever see him again. He failed us.”
According to court documents, Ganley filed for emergency custody of Christian in November 2010 after the child came to his house with a black eye and bruises.
“Since I have separated from my son's mother, I have been taking him every weekend,” Ganley wrote in court documents on file at Hillsborough County Family Division in Merrimack. “He has come with bite marks on his face, choke marks on his neck, and this past weekend he has come with a black eye and the whole side of his head and face bruised.”
Ganley also said that throughout 2010, Christian had suffered a broken arm and dislocated shoulder.
“I'm afraid she'll take him back and something bad will happen to him,” he wrote in the petition seeking emergency custody on Nov. 29, 2010.
The following day, a judge ruled that Jackson's parenting was temporarily suspended, and a hearing on the matter was scheduled for later in December. Then, the court ordered that Ganley would have temporary sole decision making and residency responsibility for his son, court records say.
A temporary decree on the parenting petition was filed, and a scheduling conference was tentatively planned for March 11 on the matter, but Jackson died just three weeks prior to the hearing.
Authorities have refused to comment on whether child welfare workers were investigating Ganley's allegations that someone was abusing Christian.
Both parents have criminal backgrounds. Latoya Jackson was convicted in 2005 of hindering apprehension for trying to hide injuries on her 3-month-old daughter. She received a five-year probation after testifying against her former boyfriend, Jose Meza, who admitted to repeatedly breaking their infant daughter's bones because he was frustrated by her crying.
She reportedly confessed to helping Meza hide the baby's injuries. Meza was sentenced in 2007 to 12 years in prison for the felony assault charges.
Ganley is a convicted felon who spent seven years behind bars for stabbing a relative in the chest and several other violent crimes, according to court records.
Since Christian's murder, Ganley has been arrested on charges unrelated to his son's death and is currently being held at the Valley Street Jail in Manchester. Last June, he was indicted on charges of selling heroin, second-degree assault, attempted first-degree assault and criminal threatening for allegedly choking his former girlfriend.
According to court documents, Ganley allegedly squeezed the woman's neck until she was unable to breathe or talk. In addition, Ganley is also facing a separate assault charge for allegedly punching Jose Ramirez, 19, in the head while attempting to steal marijuana from him just four days after his son's death.
A trial on those charges was originally scheduled for this month, but Ganley has filed a notice of intent to plead guilty. In a negotiated plea on file at Hillsborough County Superior Court, prosecutors are offering him four to eight years in state prison, with 1½ years suspended if Ganley enters the Delancy Street Foundation drug treatment program.
Agati said last week that he is aware of the plea arrangement.
“What is going on with these (unrelated) charges is not affecting the timeline or the work on this (homicide) case,” said Agati. “His incarceration is not impacting our investigation.”
The New Hampshire Attorney General's Office and the Nashua Police Department are jointly investigating Christian's murder.
“I just want answers and I want somebody arrested,” said Jackson. “I feel like I am in the dark here.”Victim's death comes 6 years after shooting
Although no arrests have been made, investigators maintain it is not a cold case.
“I am angry and I am aggravated,” Latoya Jackson, Christian's mother, told a reporter Friday. “This shouldn't take a year, it is just ridiculous. My family has been through hell and back.”
Christian, who spent time living at both of his parents' apartments, was visiting his father on Feb. 19, 2011, at 63 Chestnut St. when emergency personnel received a 911 call reporting the toddler was not breathing. The boy was pronounced dead the following morning at Southern New Hampshire Regional Medical Center.
His death was later determined to be from blunt-force trauma, and prosecutors classified it as a homicide. Details of the boy's injuries have still not been released.
“I can't elaborate on the injury, but it was extremely severe,” Assistant Attorney General Benjamin Agati said last week. “This was a lot of blunt force.”
Positive strides are being made and prosecutors investigating the murder say they are optimistic that justice will prevail for this innocent child.
“This case has not been cold. It is most definitely a priority, and it is still very active,” assured Agati.
Jackson says she is frustrated about the visible lack of progress being made. There are still many unanswered questions about what happened to Christian in the final moments of his life, she said.
“I think that even when I do find out what happened, it will probably still hurt just as much,” said Jackson, who plans on visiting her son's gravestone on Monday.
Any investigation involving young children and injuries requires a lot of details that must be reviewed thoroughly, explained Agati. At this point, he said, it is too early to speculate as to whether this was first- or second-degree murder. Investigators must first determine who inflicted the injuries and the intent, he added.
“We are still working on a few different aspects of this case. We have had many productive leads as recent as just this month,” Agati said, refusing to go into specifics or say whether any suspects have been identified. “Everybody from the investigation team feels that progress is being made at a good pace. We are hopeful for a conclusion.”
Many people have been interviewed, including relatives on both sides of the family, he said, adding there has been cooperation.
Christian, who would have celebrated his fourth birthday on Jan. 12, was the son of Jackson and Shawn Ganley, both of Nashua.
Following his son's death, Ganley, 30, told MyFoxBoston.com that when Christian arrived at his house, the boy was not acting his usual self and almost immediately went to sleep. Later, the boy began gasping for air, and Ganley tried to perform CPR on the child, he told the news station.
“I wish I knew all the answers,” Ganley said at the time. “... I want everyone to stop pointing the finger at me.”
Jackson said Friday she does not know who inflicted the injuries on her son, but said she holds Ganley responsible for not taking care of Christian that day.
“He should have protected my son. I blame him, and I will never forgive him,” she said of Ganley. “I don't want to ever see him again. He failed us.”
According to court documents, Ganley filed for emergency custody of Christian in November 2010 after the child came to his house with a black eye and bruises.
“Since I have separated from my son's mother, I have been taking him every weekend,” Ganley wrote in court documents on file at Hillsborough County Family Division in Merrimack. “He has come with bite marks on his face, choke marks on his neck, and this past weekend he has come with a black eye and the whole side of his head and face bruised.”
Ganley also said that throughout 2010, Christian had suffered a broken arm and dislocated shoulder.
“I'm afraid she'll take him back and something bad will happen to him,” he wrote in the petition seeking emergency custody on Nov. 29, 2010.
The following day, a judge ruled that Jackson's parenting was temporarily suspended, and a hearing on the matter was scheduled for later in December. Then, the court ordered that Ganley would have temporary sole decision making and residency responsibility for his son, court records say.
A temporary decree on the parenting petition was filed, and a scheduling conference was tentatively planned for March 11 on the matter, but Jackson died just three weeks prior to the hearing.
Authorities have refused to comment on whether child welfare workers were investigating Ganley's allegations that someone was abusing Christian.
Both parents have criminal backgrounds. Latoya Jackson was convicted in 2005 of hindering apprehension for trying to hide injuries on her 3-month-old daughter. She received a five-year probation after testifying against her former boyfriend, Jose Meza, who admitted to repeatedly breaking their infant daughter's bones because he was frustrated by her crying.
She reportedly confessed to helping Meza hide the baby's injuries. Meza was sentenced in 2007 to 12 years in prison for the felony assault charges.
Ganley is a convicted felon who spent seven years behind bars for stabbing a relative in the chest and several other violent crimes, according to court records.
Since Christian's murder, Ganley has been arrested on charges unrelated to his son's death and is currently being held at the Valley Street Jail in Manchester. Last June, he was indicted on charges of selling heroin, second-degree assault, attempted first-degree assault and criminal threatening for allegedly choking his former girlfriend.
According to court documents, Ganley allegedly squeezed the woman's neck until she was unable to breathe or talk. In addition, Ganley is also facing a separate assault charge for allegedly punching Jose Ramirez, 19, in the head while attempting to steal marijuana from him just four days after his son's death.
A trial on those charges was originally scheduled for this month, but Ganley has filed a notice of intent to plead guilty. In a negotiated plea on file at Hillsborough County Superior Court, prosecutors are offering him four to eight years in state prison, with 1½ years suspended if Ganley enters the Delancy Street Foundation drug treatment program.
Agati said last week that he is aware of the plea arrangement.
“What is going on with these (unrelated) charges is not affecting the timeline or the work on this (homicide) case,” said Agati. “His incarceration is not impacting our investigation.”
The New Hampshire Attorney General's Office and the Nashua Police Department are jointly investigating Christian's murder.
“I just want answers and I want somebody arrested,” said Jackson. “I feel like I am in the dark here.”
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