Sunday, November 4, 2012

Chad Evans Murder: Police Version


We began with knowing only that Chad Evans had been convicted of killing Kassidy, 21 months, who had died the day after being assaulted, while in the care of her aunt's boyfriend.  Kassidy's mother dropped her off so that her bruises would not be seen at Daycare.  She said that these bruises were inflicted by Chad Evans while he forcibly, and in anger, squeezed her face.  

Next Up:  Does the girlfriend's continued affection for the killer prove him innocent?  (upcoming)  Why do some battered woman defend the abuser?  Why would a mother defend the man that killed her own child?  

She had trouble breathing, and went into shock.  

Statement Analysis thus far has shown the following:

1.  Chad Evans was deceptive in his police interview
2.  Chad Evans highlighted the times in which he assaulted Kassidy. 
3.  Chad Evans strongly disliked or hated Kassidy

We then saw his ex wife's police statement in which she described Evans' attack upon her.  This document showed veracity.  Below is the police version, pre sentencing.  How much does this version agree with the analysis?

Underlining, italics and bold type added for emphasis and Statement Analysis.  


35. POLICE VERSION:
At approximately 12:30 PM on 11-09-00 Kittery Patrol Officer Robert Creamer responded to 51 Rogers Road, Kittery, ME, for the report of a young child who was in shock and experiencing shallow breathing. Officer Creamer arrived at the residence to find Jefferey Marshall on the porch kneeling over Kassidy Bortner (DOB: 02- 04-99). The youngster was laying on a piece of sheet rock, and Mr. Marshall appeared to be trying to give Kassidy CPR. Officer Creamer, as well as Detective Steven A. Hamel of the Kittery Police Department, who arrived at the scene at about 12:42 PM, observed bruises on the toddler's head and face area. The police report completed by Officer Creamer noted that black and blues were on Kassidy's stomach area and all over her face, chin and neck region.

 According to Officer Creamer, Kassidy only had a diaper on, and her eyes were open and fixed. In responding to an inquiry by Officer Creamer, Mr. Marshall could offer no sure explanation for the bruises on Kassidy and related that his girlfriend's sister dropped the child off that morning for him to watch because she didn't want a daycare center to see the black and blue marks. Although Officer Creamer attempted to perform CPR on Kassidy, he could see that her hands and arms were cold, and the victim's legs and feet were also cold and extremely blue. Further observations of Kassidy's face and lips confirmed that they were cold as well. In order to allow for more CPR to be done, Officer Creamer removed a small amount of blood coming from Kassidy's nose, which had reached the mouth area. 

The only thing for certain that Mr. Marshall could offer concerning the black and p}ues covering Kassidy's face was that it had been told to him she was hit by a baseball. Ambulance personnel arrived at the Rogers Road home, p~tthe child on IV and transported her to York Hospital.

Detective Hamel spoke with Frank Jefferey Marshall (AKA Jefferey Marshall), who had been visibly shaken and trying to assist medical responders with the care of Kassidy. According to Mr. Marshall, Kassidy had been dropped off at his residence by her mother, Amanda Bortner (DOB: 01-21-82), that morning at around 8:30 AM. It was then that Amanda Bortner made a statement for Mr. Marshall and his girlfriend, Jennifer Conley (the child's aunt), to look at Kassidy's face, a reference to the significant bruising in that area. Mr. Marshall recalled that Kassidy was experiencing difficulty walking; and because ofthis, she was placed in bed to watch television. During the morning, Mr. Marshall checked on Kassidy twice, the last time being upon entering the home after getting his mail. At this time, he found Kassidy having difficulty breathing, her eyes rolled back into her head, and only a slight pulse present. 

An unsuccessful effort to wake the youngster by splashing cold water on her face was followed by Mr. Marshall doing CPR. Jefferey Marshall told Detective Hamel that he had been watching Kassidy off and on over the past few weeks and remembered the child not to have bruising on her face and acting normal when Ms. Bortner's live-in boyfriend, Chad Evans, picked her up last night after Mr. Marshall watched the victim for approximately one hour between 4:30 PM to about 5:30 PM. 

Over the next few hours Mr. Marshall recalled receiving telephone calls from Chad Evans, first explaining how Kassidy was acting weird, later fell on her face onto the driveway outside the car at the defendant's home and finally getting hit in the face with a baseball. Jefferey Marshall found these phone calls strange because Kassidy had been fine at his residence, and he couldn't understand why Mr. Evans hadn't called Kassidy's mother.

Doctor Anthony Brock attended to Kassidy Bortner at the York Hospital Emergency Room in York, ME. The victim was pronounced dead by Dr. Brock at 1:28 PM on 11-09-00, and he felt that the collection of her injuries ",ere of a suspicious nature. The medical examination revealed multiple scabbing on the bottom of her feet, bilateral and diffused retinal hemorrhages and bruising on the mid and lower abdomen, forehead, face, chin and right ear. In Dr. Brock's opinion, the bilateral and diffused hemorrhaging was indicative of a closed head injury. During the bone survey, Dr. Brock didn't detect any obvious fractures or signs of basal or skull fracturing. However, he did have concerns of an enlarged vaginal vault for the age of the child. An autopsy of Kassidy Bortner's body by the State of Maine Chief Medical Examiner, Dr. Margaret Greenwald, determined that the victim died from multiple blunt force injuries to her head and abdomen and listed the manner of death as homicide. 

Dr. Greenwald's FINDINGS with respect to the twenty-one month old decedent are attached. They include multiple
.areas of bruising, abrasions and contusions to different parts of her body, cerebral edema, bilateral acute retinal and optic nerve hemorrhage with focal hemosiderin deposition, hair loss to the posterior scalp, left tibia fracture in remodeling stage changes with re-injury and secondary fracture in the inflammatory stage, fractures of the ulna, bilateral, late reparative to early remodeling stage, and a fracture ofthe right second metacarpal in the reparative
stage. the autopsy conducted by Dr. Greenwald on 11-10-00 identified the bruising to Kassidy to be located on the back and top of her head, as well as on her forehead, eye area, cheek, jaw, neck, buttocks and abdomen. 

As far as Dr. Greenwald was concerned, the severe bruising in her abdomen was consistent with having been punched or kicked. Microscopic testing indicated that the fresh bruisesto the victim's head and stomach area were inflicted approximately twelve hours before her death, putting this timeframe consistent with when the defendant was with Kassidy during the evening of 11-08-00. 

Various older bruises on her body, including her buttocks and the back of her head, appeared to be at least a week old. Numerous contusions were found beneath Kassidy's scalp, as well as a large contusion on the inside ofher lower lip. 

Regarding the fractures to Kassidy's left-and right funnybones, right hand and left tibia, Dr. Greenwald's examination concluded that those injuries happened within one to three weeks of her death. The Maine Chief Medical Examiner observed certain "markers," such as retinal hemorrhage, suggesting either a shaking incident or sudden impact with a hard surface. Information in the Court file, specifically a Motion filed by the prosecutor, further specifies that Dr. Greenwald believes that "Kassidy suffered from 'battered child syndrome' based on the conglomeration of new and old injuries and the lack of satisfactory accidental explanation for those injuries."

An extensive police investigation into Kassidy Bortner's death occurred, and interviewed were her caretakers and individuals having observed bruises on the victim in the recent time period leading up to 11-09-00. Amanda Bortner submitted to a total of four interviews conducted by police authorities, the first occurring on the day of her daughter's death. Amanda remembered Kassidy to have "always been klutzy," something that had become much wors~ lately. She recalled incidents ofthe victim falling offthe couch, sustaining a bruise to her eye from the defendant's son hitting her with a whiffle ball, and another bruise or cut from falling onto a glass table in the living room approximately three or four days prior to 11-09-00. 

Abused children are often described as "clumsy" by their abusive parents. 

Detective Angela Blodgett of the Maine State Police asked Amanda at the Kittery Police Department on 11-09-00 if she had ever accidentally or just without thinking hit Kassidy. Amanda's response was, "No, never.

Note that "no" is a yes or no question, and "ever" is one in which "never" is responded to.  Here, she answers both though only asked one.  

Concerning whether or not Chad Evans ever hit Kassidy or hurt Amanda, theyictim'.S mother again answered in the negative. As the interview conducted by Detective Blodgett and another Maine State Trooper at the Kittery Police Department on 11-09-00 progressed, Amanda admitted that Chad Evans once put Kassidy's head under a faucet because of her screaming, although she apparently didn't see the actual act. 

That is, Amanda was nearby and assumed that is what occurred. Amanda Bortner told Detective Blodgett that Kassidy never had all these bruises on her body before the defendant came into her life. 

Ms. Bortner admitted being very lenient, while Chad Evans felt that Kassidy should be disciplined. She recalled the defendant playing rough with Kassidy, once picking her up by her head. 

Amanda related that the defendant would pull Kassidy by her arms and roughly put her in a corner. Later in the interview the victim's mother recalled Chad Evans becoming angry, grabbing Kassidy by the back of the neck, toss her into the corner, and bang her head on the closet door to keep her there. By Amanda's estimation, this took place three times weekly and "maybe more." 

Failure to Protect. 


Upon Detective Richard LeClair ofthe Maine State Police inquiring about the marks on Kassidy's face, Amanda said that they were from the defendant grabbing her face in anger. According to Amanda,
her daughter "would throw really bad fits," and Chad became upset and grabbed her by the face. 

Note the blaming of the victim by the mother. 


From what can be determined, some of these fits were due to Kassidy experiencing jealousy from Chad showing affection to Amanda. 

please note Kassidy's age when these "fits" are explained as "jealousy" over her mother receiving affection.  

As a result of the face grabbing, she recalled her daughter receiving" a little bruise here and there.

Note language of minimization and inconsistency:

"a little bruise" is singular
"here and there" is plural


Amanda remembered getting mad when the defendant made statements of Kassidy not being very smart for her age and walking funny. Oh occasions the defendant would walk into a room and react to Kassidy's crying by telling her to "be quiet." If she didn't stop, he'd grab Kassidy by the face, and he reacted to her louder screams by calling the victim "a bitch.

Compare this with Evans' inability to use Kassidy's name, as well as disparagement and use of gender.  


Regarding her reason for not leaving the defendant for this kind of inappropriate behavior, Amanda agreed that she was worried about money and housing. By her estimation, Amanda had been living with Chad Evans every day for about three months, and she said that he has a v~ry bad temper and can't control it. Amanda state~ that the defendant would push on Kassidy's throat, and "she'd automatically make herself gag." 

Please note that this is a form of torture.  It is not only painful, but cuts of breathing mechanism and initiates human gag reflex. 


Even the previous evening (11-08-00) Amanda spoke with the defendant about bringing her daughter to the doctor because she was "like spacey." The defendant's response was to wait until the bruises went away "because he was paranoid about this, about him getting in trouble with her" (according to Amanda). When asked by the Maine State Police who is responsible for Kassidy's death, Amanda said "Chad." Amanda did tell the police that the defendant told her Kassidy couldn't be left at a daycare because of the bruises on 'her face. In addition to all these statements, Amanda advised how the defendant had also abused her (Amanda). A final interview of Amanda Bortner
conduded by the police (this time the New Hampshire State Police) occurred on 12-19-00. A police report of that interview is attached, including recollections oftwo incidents in which Chad Evans had assaulted Amanda. On one occasion, he head-butted her, and another time choked Amanda with enough force to result in bruising to her neck and cause difficulties swallowing for about a week. 

His hatred of her was detailed in his consistent assaulting of her. 

This latter incident happened when Mr. Evans consumed a lot of alcohol at a party at the Exeter Inn and became intoxicated. During the police investigation, Amanda remembered how the defendant grabbed her by the throat and pinned her down during an argument about who works harder. This happened after Amanda returned home from working on Wednesd_ay night (11-08-00) and checked on Kassidy. During one of her police interviews, Amanda Bortner made the statement of the defendant saying in an angry state about Kassidy something to the effect of, "I wish she was never born" or "I wish she wasn't here." .

See confirmation in analysis from initial police interview. 


Another individual interviewed on 11-09-00 was Jefferey Marshall who provided the attached seven-page statement to the police. In that written statement, Mr. Marshall discussed the bruises on Kassidy's face which appeared "like handprints." Initially, Jefferey and his girlfriend, Jennifer Conley (Amanda's sister), babysat Kassidy overnight because Amanda and the defendant would go out. 

Statement Analysis will cover Jeffrey Marshall's handwritten statement. 


As time went on, though, the necessity for them babysitting surrounded Kassidy's bruises to avoid daycare authorities and relatives seeing them. In the last week or so before the victim's death, Mr. Marshall remembered Amanda telling him and Jennifer that Kassidy was walking funny because Chad either pulled her leg or picked her up by it. Amanda further advised Mr. Marshall and Jennifer of her intentions to get another babysitter as soon as Kassidy's bruises went away. 

As Jefferey Marshall said in his statement, "Mandy told U$ that Chad had hit her because she was bad - me and Jen should have probably done something but you would have never thought it was this bad." When the victim left his house on the evening of 11-08-00, Jefferey Marshall did not notice any bruises on Kassidy. However, the next morning when Amanda Bortner brought Kassidy over to his home in Kittery, ME, Mr. Marshall said the bruises were all over her face. Efforts by the victim to walk proved unsuccessful evidenced by Kassidy falling on the floor. It appears that the victim never left the bed during the morning of 11-09-00 during which she was very quiet. Upon Mr. Marshall finding Kassidy not breathing later in the day, he called for help (911), and ambulance personnel and the police arrived.

Mr. Marshall's face-to-face interview with two Maine State Police Troopers at the Kittery Police Department on 11-09-00 indicated that he first started noticing bruises on Kassidy when Chad Evans came into her life. The bruises were "mainly on the face," and Amanda told Jefferey that she didn't want other people to see her daughter's bruises. Regarding the bruises, they kept reappearing, like someone was grabbing her. Jefferey Marshall remembers receiving excuses for the origin of the bruises, such as Kassidy falling off a bed. As he said, some of this could be believed because of Kassidy's clumsiness, "but I think when it starts happening over and over, you know what I mean, because right here you know... " While he and Jennifer Conley had Kassidy for overnights, Mr. Marshall said that Kassidy cried herself "to bed" and later she could be found standing in the room "in the middle of the night" just looking at the wall. Last night (11-08-00) Mr. MarshaII remembered receiving telephone calls from
.the defendant expressing concerns for Kassidy's condition. Soon after Chad Evans picked the victim up around 5:30 PM he called Jefferey Marshall from the Dover toll booths saying that she was in the back seat acting weird and "kind of bobbing around." Some discussion might also have occurred about the elections. At some later point, Mr. Marshall received another call from the defendant saying that the victim fell on the ground "face down" when Cilad went around to the other side of the car to let his son out. A third caIl came in to Mr. Marshall from the defendant advising that his son hit a baseball, which struck Kassidy in the face. A final call is placed to Mr. Marshall by Chad Evans saying that Kassidy's eyes were in the back of her head. Jefferey Marshall could hear the defendant calling the victim's name several times, and Mr. Evans advised that she was coming out of it. Mr. Marshall remembers Chad Evans saying something like, "She's all right." When Jennifer Conley arrived home that night, Mr. Marshall said to her, "Can you believe she got hit with a baseball?" Jennifer responded, "well, that explains why Mandy got pissed off at him on the phone." This apparently occurred during a work break when Jennifer heard Amanda say in a telephone conversation with the defendant, "I'm so sick of her getting bruises when she's around you" (or something to that effect). With respect to his own discipline of Kassidy, Mr. Marshall advised once slapping her "on the butt" over her diaper only for the purpose of getting Kassidy's attention to stop her from what she was doing wrong.

The last individual to arrive at the Kittery Police Station on 11-09-00 to be interviewed was Chad Evans. He

related knowing Kassidy for four months and a number oftimes referred to her clumsiness. Concerning himself, Chad denied ever being in trouble and being a model citizen to the point of, "I always had life by the balls.
Inflated sense of self; misogyny and narcissism noted in initial analysis. 


According to the defendant, perhaps he should have taken Kassidy to a doctor because she had "some, you know, black and blues on her whatever.

dismissive


Detective Lance McCleish of the Maine State Police asked Chad about the marks on Kassidy. He replied, "Yeah like, she had like a black and blue on her cheek or something." The defendant didn't know the origin ofthe marks on the victim and said, "I mean, I mean you know like I said she does walk into things." During the interview, Chad spoke of Kassidy's jealousy in the form 9f "fits" if he sat near Amanda. 

This is his interpretation of Kassidy's acting out behavior and shows further not only his hatred of her, but his own self-centered view as a narcissist. 

Upon responding to a question from Detective Richard LeClair regarding whether or not he ever caused
.bruises to Kassidy, Chad admitted grabbing her face with two fingers for her to look into his eyes. The defendant also discussed another incident when he grabbed Kassidy in the face with his hand to prevent her from falling off the trampoline.. According to Chad, he did splash water on Kassidy's face because she was screaming. An accusation by Detective McCleish that Chad was responsible for Kassidy's injuries resulted in his reply of, "Clearly bullshit. I did not do these injuries ....

Note present tense, "do", violating principle 2 of reliable denial. 

A discussion of Jefferey Marshall involved Chad saying that Mr. Marshall admitted hitting Kassidy so hard (apparently on the buttocks) that his hand stung and black and blues were left. He also said that Kassidy fell out of Mr. Marshall's truck and received a bump on her head. On the evening of 11-08- 00, the defendant recalled calling Jefferey Marshall to ask if he had beaten Kassidy because she was leaning forward and drooling in the car. Upon arriving home with Kassidy and his son, Mr. Evans again called Jefferey Marshall to advise that the victim was acting weird after falling on the ground and laying face down outside the car. Finally, Chad did say that later the sa,me night his son hit a hard rubber ball, which struck Kassidy in the eye.

While at home during the night of 11-08-00 with Kassidy and Kyle, the defendant remembers being "Mr. Mom" and babying Kassidy "more than usual because she was sick... "
self boasting

Travis C. Hunt, a roommate ofthe defendant and Amanda Bortner at 191 Milton Road in Rochester, NH, stated to a police officer that Chad Evans loves children, and Mr. Hunt never observed any fighting between the defendant and Ms. Bortner. Although having seen bruises on Kassidy Bortner, Mr. Hunt recalled observing the victim falling into a coffee table without using her arms to break the fall. On the evening of 11-08-00 Mr. Hunt saw a bruise on Kassidy's eye. Confirming Chad Evans' version to Mr. Hunt that his son hit Kassidy in the eye with a ball was the child (apparently Kyle Evans) telling him the same thing.

Another friend of Chad Evans, Bruce Aube, was also spoken to by Troopers from the New Hampshire State Police and the Maine State Police. Mr. Aube, who has been a friend of the defendant for eleven years, observed bruises on Kassidy approximately four weeks ago, which her mother, Amanda Bortner, blamed on her daughter falling down a flight of stairs

Abused children are always thought to have such bad luck, and constantly falling down.  Note any disparagement, even if it is subtle.  Here, she fell down an entire flight of stairs. 


In the following weeks, Bruce Aube saw other bruises on different parts ofKassidy's
'body and heard that Amanda 'Bortner couldn't take the victim to her parents' house due to the bruising on Kassidy's face.

Different friends of Amanda Bortner were interviewed by the police over the next week following Kassidy's death. Emily Conley remenibered Amanda telling her that the defendant was a very controlling person; and as a result, she wanted to get her own apartment. Three weeks earlier Emily noticed that Kassidy's face was completely bruised. Although Amanda stated that Chad was responsible for the bruises, she claimed that the defendant grabbed the victim by the face to prevent her from falling off the trampoline. However, when Emily spoke with another friend, Shannon Gagne, Shannon remembered Amanda telling her that Kassidy received the bruises from hitting her head on a wall or doorjamb while she was on Chad's hip. According to Emily Conley, she also saw bruises on Amanda's face, and the victim's mother admitted that Chad Evans grabbed her face in anger five to six times. On one occasion Amanda asked Emily Conley if she would take part in a threesome with Chad, which she declined to do.

Shannon Gagne on 11-12-00 told Detective Jeffrey Linscott ofthe Maine State Police that she last saw Amanda Bortner and Kassidy approximately three weeks ago. At that time, Shannon observed a bruise on Kassidy Bortner's forehead. In the past, Shannon had seen bruises on Kassidy's forehead, which Amanda explained to have occurred from falling down. Concerning a bruise on Kassidy's eye, Amanda claimed it to be the result of another little girl hitting her while playing together. Only recently did Amanda tell Shannon that Kassidy was babysat overnight in Kittery to avoid the defendant's parents seeing the bruises on her daughter.
Detective Linscott interviewed Vicki Norman on 11-12-00. According to Ms. Norman, she was at Emily Conley's residence, apparently in Springvale, ME, two weeks ago. Emily was babysitting Kassidy Bortner, and

Vicki noticed all the bruises on the victim's neck. Interestingly, Vicki received a different story from Amanda Bortner concerning the origin of the bruises than what Amanda had told Emily Conley and Shannon Gagne.
Melissa Chick grew up with Amanda Bortner in Maine, and they have been friends for six years. On 11-13-00 Melissa told Detective Jeffrey Smith of the Maine State Police that four to five weeks ago Amanda Bortner arrived with Kassidy at the Chick residence to spend the night. On that occasion Melissa said that Kassidy's face was covered with bruises to the extent that, "We could barely see her face with all the bruises all over her face." One mark started from Kassidy's left ear and ended at her chin. Amanda Bortner, claiming that the defendant's son hit Kassidy with a bat, wanted to spend the night to avoid Chad Evans' parents, who were coming for dinner, seeing Kassidy's bruises. Upon bathing Kassidy later that night, Melissa Chick observed a bruise to her stomach area and marks on her arms and legs. A bruise line across the-back of Kassidy's fingers also could be seen. As far as Ms. Chick was concerned, these were not bruises children get. Amanda Bortner told Melissa that Mr. Evans, who feels that Amanda is too lenient, is helping her discipline Kassidy. Again, Amanda explained the injuries to be the result of children's play, but this explanation did not make sense to Ms. Chick. Melissa also saw a bruise on Amanda's face. Upon inquiring about the bruise, Melissa was told by Amanda that she had walked into a door. During their discussion, Amanda Bortner described Chad Evans as the most physically rough man she had ever engaged in sex with.
Tracey Foley was also spoken to by Detective Smith on 11-13-00. According to Ms. Foley, she had known Amanda Bortner for four years, but they lost contact with each other. Two months ago, though, Tracey acci4~ntally ran into Amanda Bortne,r and Kassidy at the YMCA in Sanford, ME. In addition to a large bruise on the side of Amanda's face, Tracey stated that bruises covered Kassidy's entire face. Amanda admitted to Tracey Foley that the defendant caused her bruise by hitting her during an argument. Concerning the bruises on Kassidy's face, Amanda claimed that Chad Evans accidentally caused them by catching her as she was falling off the
-trampoline at his house. Tracey didn't believe this story and could tell that Amanda was being less than honest. An offer was made by Tracey for Amanda and Kassidy to move in with her instead of living with Chad Evans, but Amanda refused.
A year later, on 11-07-01, police authorities interviewed Tracey Foley a second time. She again talked about the chance meeting with Amanda Bortner and Kassidy at the YMCA, where mUltiple bruises were present across the bridge of Kassidy's nose and cheek area. Amanda and Kassidy spent a night at the Foley residence, and this is' when the trampoline explanation was given. Tracey said the bruise on Amanda's jaw was also discussed. In doing so, Amanda stumbled for an explanation and came up with the story of falling into a door. A week after Kassidy's death Amanda Bortner showed up at Tracey's kitchen door crying and said "and you knew." "And I didn't listen." Amanda told Tracey that Chad had been arrested, and.she discussed "bits and pieces" of her relationship with the defendant and his abuse of Kassidy. Amanda divulged looking at Chad as her knight in shining armor and her savior. During her relationship with the defendant, he was jealous of Kassidy and became upset when she tried to get Amanda's attention. Efforts by Chad to quiet Kassidy involved grabbing her by the shirt and pushing her, once throwing Kassidy on the bed and "like push her like up against the wall to get her to be quiet." Sgt. James White of the New Hampshire State Police posed the question to Tracey if Amanda attributed the blame of Kassidy's death to anyone. Tracey Foley responded, "In my opinion yes. Chad." Her basis for making this determination was Amanda's statement that he did this to her baby, so Tracey concluded, "That pretty much sums it up to me."
Kris Keeler, a Child Protective Service Worker with the New Hampshire Department of Health & Human Services, told Detective Erik Baker ofthe Maine State Police on 11-13-00 that his agency received an anonymous report on 10-31-00 involving Kassidy Bortner. The anonymous reporter had observed large bruises to the left side ofKassidy's face and across her neck 'approximately two weeks earlier. Furthermore, the reporter had been in the defendant's home the night before making this call and observed new bruising to the right side of the child's face. Accompanying Kris Keeler to the interview at the Kittery Police Department was another caseworker, Patricia Hocter, who left a message on Chad Evans' answering machine on 11-06-00 requesting a return call. Because the defendant didn't get in touch with her, Patricia left another message with Mr. Evans at 9: 11 AM on 11-09-00. The defendant called Patricia Hocter back about 12:30 PM on 11-09-00, leaving a voice message that he would be out of town for the weekend and would contact her. Interestingly, Jefferey Marshall told Detective Linscott of the Maine State Police on 11-09-00 how he received a telephone call that morning at around 9:40 from Chad Evans. Mr. Marshall's recollection is that the defendant indicated just receiving a phone call from "the Department of
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Chad Emory Evans PSI
Human'Services or something like that." Concern was detected in Chad Evans' voice, and the defendant said, "I don't want to be putting up with this shit, you know, they're asking me about child abuse over her, it's like, I ought to have her and her mother out."
Jeremy Hinton, a close friend ofthe defendant, was interviewed by the New Hampshire State Police. Mr. Hinton, the Manager of McDonald's in Portsmouth, had also seen bruises on Kassidy Bortner. Specifically, Jeremy observed a couple bruises on her neck, which he thought was an odd place for those to exist. Approximately a month ago Amanda Bortner explained to Jeremy that she didn't want to bring Kassidy home to her mother who would flip out upon seeing the bruises on her granddaughter. At the time, Jeremy look-ed at Kassidy and didn't see any bruises. During the interview, Jeremy talked about the defendant's gambling and alcohol consumption. With respect to Kassidy, she often just sits on the couch when Jeremy sees her.
Spoken to by Sgt. James White of the New Hampshire State Police on 08-17-01 was Catherine Nuernberg. Ms. Nuernberg had been a friend of Amal1da Bortner. Around August 2000 she accompanied Amanda to the defendant's house. On that occasion Amanda and Mr. Evans went to another part of the home, and Amanda returned to where Catherine was and told her that the defendant just"head-butted"her. AccordingtoCatherine Nuernberg, Chad Evans came on to her and wanted her to have a threesome with him and Amanda. At some point, Amanda told Ms. Nuernberg that Tristan Evans and the defendant participated in threesomes, and Tristan recruited others to join in. Her impression of the defendant is that he was disgusting. 

During their relationship, Catherine felt that Amanda Bortner feared making Chad Evans angry and did whatever possible to avoid that. Catherine relate,d a time, believed to be in Sept~mber 2000, when she went to the defendant's home to meet Amanda Bortner and saw Kassidy's face to be badly bruised and a burn appearing on the top of one of her feet. Upon confronting Amanda about the bruises and the burn, Catherine was given the explanation of a hair curling iron landing on Kassidy's foot, and a bruise above her eye also an accident. "Grab marks" around Kassidy's mouth had also been observed by Ms. Nuernberg, and it was clear that they were thumb and finger marks. 

Even though Catherine
grilled Amanda Bortner about the grab marks, she refused to offer a reason for them. According to Catherine Nuernberg, Amanda Bortner often indicated that Kassidy had fallen off the trampoline. 

more 'unlucky' events for the battered child?


On the one hand, it was possible that this might have happened once but certainly not as many times as Ms. Bortner claimed.
The residences of Chad Evans on 191 Milton Road in Rochester, NH and Jefferey Marshall and Jennifer Conley on Rogers Road in Kittery, ME were searched by the police for evidence. On 11-16-00 Chad Evans was arrested by police authorities at his Milton Road residence for Manslaughter in connection with causing the death of twenty-one month old Kassidy Bortner. The following day he was arraigned in the Rochester District Court, and bail was set in the amount of $50,000 cash or corporate surety. On 12-14-01 the Strafford County Grand Jury handed up several indictments against the defendant, including one for Second Degree Murder. The Strafford County Superior Court on 01-02-01 ordered that Chad Evans bail be changed to $100,000 corporate surety, with conditions to be "no contact with Amanda Bortner, her family or Jefferey Marshall." As it turned out, Judge O'Neill in the Strafford County Superior Court on 08-20-01 revoked his bail based on evidence that Chad Evans
.had been living with Amanda Bortner, more or less continuously, from shortly before Christmas 2000 until the bail revocation.
After a jury trial in the Strafford County Superior Court, Chad Evans was found guilty on 12-21-01 of six Felonies and two Class A Misdemeanors. One felony was for Second Degree Murder in connection with r~klessly causing the death of Kassidy Bortner under circumstances manifesting an extreme indifference of human life by inflicting multiple blows to her head and abdomen. The other seven crimes were for Second Degree Assault (5), Endangering the Welfare of a Child (1) and Simple Assault (1). All these offenses were committed against Kassidy Bortner, except for the Simple Assault for placing his hands around Amanda Bortner's neck in Rochester, NH, between approximately 11-08-00 and 11-09-00. A pre-sentence investigation was ordered to be completed prior to sentencing.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have a question. Where is this Amanda Bortner now?

Jazzie said...

Amanda was granted immunity for her testimony:

please go to pg 6 of:
http://www.chadevanswronglyconvicted.org/documents/120821JeffStrelzintoChadEvansforWebsiteallinclencl24pp.pdf

"Bortner, Amanda Jean (Mandy). Mother of Kassidy Caitlyn Bortner, and girlfriend of Chad Evans. Convicted of child endangerment and served 16 months in Strafford County House of Corrections."

http://www.chadevanswronglyconvicted.org/whos_who.html

Jazzie said...

Where is Amanda Bortner now?

Free.
Gotta love irony.

Jazzie said...

It's never a good sign when veterinary documents are revealed in a chronology of a murdered child:

http://www.chadevanswronglyconvicted.org/documents/MedicalrecordsfromBroadviewAnimalHospital.pdf

Lis said...

The man is a monster but I am even more disgusted and repulsed by the so-called mother. This was her "knight in shining armor"??

It's discouraging to see how many people were aware that Kassidy was being abused and yet did nothing.

"Concerning a bruise on Kassidy's eye, Amanda claimed it to be the result of another little girl hitting her while playing together."
-Where have we heard this one before? I wonder if Kassidy was playing in the ball pit at Chucky Cheese when this happened?

Jazzie said...

Jeff Marshall's statement:

http://www.chadevanswronglyconvicted.org/documents/001109WJeffMarshallsubseqfullsevenpagesofstatementatKitteryPD.pdf

Anonymous said...

I understand that she is free but where is she? What is she doing? Does she have other children?

dancing molecules said...

This is one of the saddest cases I have ever read about.

LawAbiding said...

Everyone failed this little girl. Everyone. This case breaks my heart. :(

Dane said...

What a monster! Takes a BIG MAN to beat up a baby!!!

Violet said...

FYI, there's a mistake here: "An accusation by Detective McCleish that Chad was responsible for Kassidy's injuries resulted in his reply of, "Clearly bullshit. I did not do these injuries .... "

Note present tense, "do", violating principle 2 of reliable denial.

This isn't in present tense--this is past perfect. The whole phrase (I did not do...) is linked together, and the "did" part of the verb determines the tense of the whole phrase.

He's obviously the worst person in the world. I'm looking forward to reading the analysis of Marshall's statement; I'm curious about whether he was abusing her as well.

Anonymous said...

Maybe I skipped over it, I see where DHS got a call, and that they called C.E. but I don't see where they went to the home to see the child in question. Does anyone know if it was followed up on? Or did they just talk to C.E. on the phone and ask him if he was abusing kassidy?

morrisonbonpasse said...

On Tuesday, October 31, around noon, Chad’s estranged wife, Tristan Evans, called DCYF (Div. of Children Youth and Families) to express concern about bruises on Kassidy. (See the “Chronology” section of the website, www.chadevanswronglyconvicted.org.)
Despite a DCYF guideline or requirement that followup calls be made within 48 hours, the first documented call to Chad’s home was on Thursday morning, November 9, the day Kassidy died.
DCYF employee Patricia Hocter testified at Chad’s trial that she had called, unsucessfully on Monday, November 6, but no message was received at Chad’s house and there was no DCYF documentation of the call. Hocter left a message on Chad’s phone at 9:06 a.m. on the 9th. Chad was in the shower. Amanda had already left for the day for work, after taking Chad’s son to daycare and Kassidy to the babysitter’s.
Chad returned the call to DCYF at 9:35 a.m. and, without knowing the subject of the call, left a message that he would be away for the weekend and asked the caller to call him back the following Tuesday. Chad then went to work and the next communication he received about Kassidy was a call that afternoon to come to the Kittery police station.

For more information about the Chad Evans case, please visit the website, www.chadevanswronglyconvicted.org and the book, EYE CONTACT - The Mysterious Death in 2000 of Kassidy Bortner and the Wrongful Convictions of Chad Evans and Amanda Bortner.

Unknown said...

We’re people fired at dept of child services? They were late by 6-7 days as required by the dept., in checking on this child.They could have saved her life. So sad to think this little baby was trying to exist, to walk with broken bones amid all her other injuries, no kind words of sympathy. The only person that tried to help Kassidy was Tristan Evans, the monsters ex-wife, she knew the true monster that he is. Then this baby killer,Chad Evans had his parents,who had little money, pay this weirdo to work on his case... for years.