Nevada man charged with child's murder

Nevada Daily Mail

Four months after the death of Ethan Warner, 3, an arrest warrant was issued Thursday for Jerry Penticuff, 32, after a lengthy investigation into the child's homicide.

Warner had been left in the care of a family friend on Oct. 29, when his mother returned to discover he had hot water burns on his body, according to a press release from the Nevada Police Department. She took him to the Nevada Regional Medical Center, and he was then flown to Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City for further treatment. Warner died of those injuries Nov. 2.

"Working child death cases is very difficult," Nevada Police Chief Graham Burnley said. "It's a terrible thing you have to go through."

Sgt. Steve Bastow said officer Amber Williamson took the original report and followed up on it when they received a call from the hospital for possible child abuse. Williamson and Bastow conducted the investigation and several interviews concerning the incident.

Bastow said when Warner died, the investigation changed its pitch, as it became a possible homicide.

Just a couple weeks after the incident, the Jackson County medical examiner determined that the child had likely been held in hot water, inflicting the fatal injuries, and so ruled it a homicide.

Working with the Jackson County medical examiner, the division of family services, the cooperation of the mother and a recently released coroner's report, Nevada Police Department received the warrant Thursday.

"It's been a challenging period for us to work this case," Burnley said. "I'm very proud of the police that worked this thing and stayed with it and came to a logical conclusion."

Penticuff, a Nevada resident, is charged with second-degree murder, a class A felony, with the cash-only bond set at $1 million. Penticuff is already incarcerated due to an unrelated incident.

The NPD press release said the child's mother and family members weren't suspected of any criminal act and were cooperative during the investigation.

"I'm very happy that it in fact has been resolved... There is a certain amount of closure," Burnley said. "However, the case is just now beginning. Now we go into the court system and the burden of proof is on us."

Bastow said the Nevada police will continue working with the prosecuting attorney's office as the trial begins.