CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The trial has begun for a Middle Tennessee man accused of murder in the death of his infant son.
The Leaf-Chronicle (http://leafne.ws/1pY8nqJ) reports the trial of Jacobi Jarel Pender opened Monday afternoon with the 911 call he made after finding his 5-month-old son unresponsive in his crib. The child, Isaiah Treyvon Pender, died on Nov. 11, 2012.
Jacobi Pender is charged with felony murder, aggravated child abuse and aggravated child neglect.
He was charged after an autopsy found the child suffered from subdural hemorrhaging, bleeding on the brain and hemorrhaging of the spine.
Prosecutors said Pender has given varying accounts of how the infant could have received the injuries.
Defense attorney Stephanie Ritchie says a defense expert will testify that the child wasn't abused and died from natural causes.