Trial begins for Rock Hill man charged in daughter’s death

The trial began Monday for a Rock Hill man charged with homicide by child abuse in the death of his 6-week-old daughter, Kaidence, in January 2014.

Quentin Evans, 26, appeared in court wearing a white short-sleeved button-down shirt, alongside his attorney, Dave Cook. Evans, who has been held at the York County Detention Center without bail since his arrest the day after Kaidence’s death, entered a plea of not guilty.

In his opening arguments, Cook said Evans “adamantly maintains his innocence,” as he has since his arrest.

Kierra Banks, Kaidence’s mother who has denied that Evans would ever hurt their baby, was in court Monday.

Cook and Willy Thompson, 16th Circuit deputy solicitor, presented opening arguments before Circuit Court Judge J. Derham Cole. Both Thompson and 16th Circuit Solicitor Kevin Brackett are prosecuting the case.

Thompson described the injuries Kaidence had on her body that were discovered during the autopsy. He urged the jurors to “use common sense” and look at “the spectrum of injuries.”

Kaidence had severe bruising over much of her body, Thompson said, including on her spinal column and her head. She also had retinal hemorrhaging, a broken collarbone and subdural hematomas – or bruising of the brain – consistent with abusive head trauma, what’s often called “shaken baby syndrome.”

All of these injuries couldn’t possibly be caused by an accident, as Evans claims, Thompson said.

“It comes down to one thing,” Thompson said. “It comes down to a violent abuse against this child.”

Cook encouraged jurors to only consider the evidence presented, not what was said by prosecutors in opening and closing statements. He also spoke to jurors on the meaning of “beyond a reasonable doubt,” the burden the state must reach in order for the jury to convict Evans.

Brackett played the recordings of the 911 calls made from 19 Wright St. at 6:36 a.m. on Jan. 23, 2014, when Kaidence died.

The recordings left some in the courtroom visibly upset. Some shook or cried as they heard Evans’ voice crying out, “My baby’s about to pass,” and as they listened to Evans’ grandfather being coached by the 911 operator on infant CPR.

Evans wiped away tears as the recordings played.

The first paramedic on scene that morning, Steve Pursley, testified that Kaidence was dead when he arrived. He also said that although he performed CPR and other lifesaving measures, she showed no sign of life, and her pupils were fixed and dilated, a sign she had been without oxygen for some time, he said.

Evans told the paramedic Kaidence had fallen off his bed around 3 a.m., but that she seemed all right, Pursley said in court. Evans told him he tried to feed his daughter around 6 a.m., and around 6:30 a.m., he realized she wasn’t breathing.

In his cross-examination, Cook asked Pursley why he used the traditional two-finger CPR method instead of a newer method. He also asked if the two-finger method could cause injuries to a child. Pursley said in some situations, injuries during CPR were possible.

Officer John Aiton of the Rock Hill Police Department also responded to the scene, but not in an investigatory capacity. Aiton testified that Evans was distraught and told Aiton he wouldn’t hurt his baby, saying, “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

Aiton said he never asked Evans any questions about what happened, and that those statements were unsolicited. He also said Evans told emergency responders Kaidence had been up crying most of the night and that he’d only gotten 15 minutes of sleep.

The trial continues Tuesday morning at Moss Justice Center. If found guilty, Evans could be sentenced to 20 years to life in prison.

This story was originally published March 16, 2015 at 10:09 PM with the headline "Trial begins for Rock Hill man charged in daughter’s death."