A married couple from Idaho is visiting Baker City Oregon they sit in a restaurant themed around trains where they get a phone call the woman is pregnant and is due within the next year they debate when their child will arrive she says March 6th he says March 9th he was right Flash Forward to March of 2020 the young couple is at the hospital awaiting the birth of their new baby the extent family comes and goes waiting with impatient baited breath the clock ticks it’s getting late then it’s time to push the man brings news to his
Family he Paces in the hospital corridors when it finally hits him he cries he is more than just a man he is now a father he’s so happy from this moment on his responsibility is first and foremost to his baby shortly after their child’s birth this new family would be shattered within the last few days before the United States would officially shut down in the wake of the pandemic a baby boy named Dawson Jace McKinny was born Adam mckin and Daniel Rue mckin would welcome Dawson into the world from St Luke’s Hospital in Boise
Idaho at 11:28 p.m. on March 9th 2020 save for a quick case of jaundice that quickly went away there were no complications during or after his delivery he was healthy happy strong and so very very loved from the moment of his birth Dawson stole the hearts of his entire family with a soft dark hair giant eyes and toothless dimpled smile the phrase it takes a village to raise a child rang true as Adam and Danielle’s family members happily stepped in to help care for baby Dawson Adam’s father watched Dawson one day a week Daniel’s
Aunt watched him two days a week Adam’s mother visited on Friday nights and Adam’s job gave him Saturday and Sunday off everyone wanted to be near this brand new bundle of joy Adam recalled the time he Danielle and Danielle’s parents brought Doss into a park with a walking trail everyone playfully argued about who got to push Dawson in a stroller because it meant we got the attention it’s my turn it’s my turn Dawson’s cousin only four years old could not say his name so she referred to him as baby dolphin the rest of the
Family would adopt this nickname for him even the family’s basset hound named June would bring baby Dawson her toys to get him to play with her Adam mckin a former US Marine was extremely excited to be a father the moment Dawson was born he was the most important person in Adam’s life to Adam Parenthood came before anything else by extension Dawson was his number one priority every day after work Adam would come home eager to greet his son sometimes only to learn he was in the care of another family member Adam’s father might called Dawson his
Little buddy and bought him matching sunglasses for the two of them Dawson would wear the small pair of sunglasses without complaint now according to Adam in an interview Danielle was sometimes excitedly waiting for Dawson’s arrival and sometimes she was fretful and worried Danielle was much more hesitant to become a parent before Dawson the couple learned that Danielle was pregnant while Adam was still serving in the US Marines he said they would figure it out and ask that she’ not make any decisions without his input however she
Went against Adam’s wishes and terminated that pregnancy at some point in their relationship Danielle had an affair she blamed her behavior and infidelity on her medications however the couple ultimately stayed together now as far as newborns go Dawson was calm and very low maintenance his father Adam Compares him to a puppy with how easily and quickly he could fall asleep he was also incredibly quiet Dawson didn’t scream or cry even when he was hungry now a quiet baby is often a cause for alarm and would cause brief moments of panic for
Any parent however Adam soon came to realize that’s just how Dawson was Adam remembers how Dawson would wake up before himself or Danielle without making a sound waiting patiently for Mom or Dad to come into his room to get him Adam said Dawson made a specific signature sound whenever he was hungry something not unlike a soft laugh Mother’s Day of 2020 Adam fed Dawson with a baby bottle while sitting in a rocking chair he recalls how Dawson and in between sips Drew back from his breakfast to look really look into his
Father’s eyes and Flash him his signature dimple smile the extended family arrived to the mckin home to celebrate Danielle and her father brought Dawson into another room to change his diaper and still he smiled that moment Danielle’s father took a picture of Dawson’s face eyes looking past the camera and at his grandfather smiling with his tiny fist clenched Dawson had a sense of Serenity patience simple joy and peace during his short 2 months on Earth that most adults would never come close to in their lifetime
Which makes his loss that much more tragic at about mid morning on May 11th 2020 the day after Mother’s Day Adam left work and swung by the family home for a short time he bottle-fed baby Dawson and placed him in the baby swing then he pulled out of the driveway to return to work 6 minutes later as seen on the Google nest camera Danielle ran to a neighbor’s house with Dawson In Her Arms limp and lifeless Adam would say that it only took those 6 minutes to completely change his life at roughly 1 p.m. EMTs were alerted to a cardiac
Arrest call or a code blue and were sent to North swon Avenue there they were met with an unresponsive infant in his mother’s arms Danielle had said that Dawson had been having trouble breathing and was throwing up over the course of in her words several days that he had been to the pediatrician during the previous week unable to find her phone she ran to her neighbors to use theirs the EMTs could not resuscitate Dawson at the scene and prepared to bring him to the emergency room based on how severe the state of Dawson was the EMT passed
the information on to the Meridian Police 18 minutes after Adam pulled out of his driveway he answered a phone call that told him that his son was in critical condition detectives questioned him upon his arrival to the emergency room the MTS first brought Dawson to St Luke’s Hospital in Meridian before transferring him to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at St Luke’s Hospital in Boise while examining and monitoring Dawson medical professionals found and I quote evidence of brain bleeding retinal injuries and a skull
fracture in the expert opinions of these medical professionals Dawson’s injuries were too extreme to be purely accidental one of the responding officers drove Danny to the hospital when asked how Dawson got hurt in the first place Daniel’s story would change she first said Dawson had been sick for days that they had been to the pediatrician the week prior to tell Adam that the dog June the Basset Hound jumped on the couch and pushed Dawson into the floor where she then tripped and fell on top of him then she said she set him down
from the diaper changing table onto the floor harder than she meant to after she grew irritated by his constant screaming but she swore it was completely accidental in the state of Idaho the charge of felony injury to a child is defined as knowingly and willing F placing a child in a dangerous situation that any rational person of sound mind would recognize could lead to harm it can carry up to 10 years in the Idaho State Penitentiary now despite Danielle’s insistence she never meant to hurt dosson she was still charged with felony
injury to a child and was given a no contact order which pre vented her from visiting Dawson in the hospital she was released on bail and allowed a supervised visit at the hospital to see her son during her time out of jail Danielle would Express to Adam how frightened she was of her uncertain future and that her life was over Adam meanwhile frantically read articles about brain damage treatments and got into contact with detectives victim’s Advocates and case workers he believed that if he left Dawson’s bedside for
even a moment Dawson would feel abandoned by his father baby Dawson fought for his life in St Luke’s he went through many procedures such as X-rays and CT scans and was connected to many tubes and wires he outlived the doctor’s anticipated estimations But ultimately he died from his injuries on May 15th at 6:08 p.m.
he was in Adam’s arms surrounded by Family Adam would go on to say God must have missed my baby so much that he needed him back Heaven must have needed need a hero and another Angel and I can only imagine how bright Heaven is now Ada County coroner D Owens determined the official cause of Dawson’s death was his extreme and traumatic closed head injuries his autopsy showed a skull fracture bleeding in his Ras and bleeding in his brain on May 18th the coroner would announce Dawson’s death in a press release the same day as Dawson’s passing Danielle
was arrested for first-degree murder and was sent to the Ada County jail following Monday John Holly an Ada County Magistrate Judge set her bond at $1 million the day after Dawson’s death a fundraiser for Dawson’s medical expenses went live on GoFundMe despite only reaching just below half of their $220,000 goal it was still no doubt a small weight off the family’s shoulders still nothing can alleviate the heavy burden of a newborn’s passing Danielle pled not guilty to the charges against her prosecutor Kai witor a life sentence
with 30 years before parole eligibility prosecutor whitward pointed to Danielle’s change in story in the extent of Dawson’s injuries as reported by Hospital staff he also requested her bond be kept at the initial $1 million prosecution believed Danielle to be a Flight Risk which meant they thought she was likely to flee and miss her trial Danielle’s defense lawyer edua elcox tried and failed to reduce the bond amount to $30,000 attorney El Cox argued her client needed mental health treatment and that the Ada County Jail did not
have the necessary resources to treat Danielle she added that while initially out of jail she did not break her release regulations attorney elcox pointed to the hourlong supervised visit to St Luke’s that Daniel was granted claiming that she wouldn’t have been granted that visit if the state thought she was at risk to herself or others Danielle’s previous criminal history only showed a misdemeanor charge for inattentive driving attor El stated that Danielle lived the majority of her life in Meridian and Boise perhaps implying that
Danielle would not escape the area because she had nowhere else to go these Arguments for and against lowering Danielle’s Bond were presented twice to adaa County Magistrate Judge Adam Kimble and once again to judge Patrick Miller of the fourth district each time they denied lowering the bond even though judge Miller said he did not consider Danielle a Flight Risk before representing Danielle edua El Cox was one of three lawyers represent presenting Lori valow debel known for her Infamous involvement in the valow
debel Doomsday murders among the four murder victims were Lori Val’s own children Tyle Ryan and JJ valow attorney alcox along with Brian Webb withdrew from the case on March 19th of 2020 more recently attorney elcox has for lack of a better term inserted herself into the case against Brian coburger the suspect and defendant in the University of Idaho killings she has given her professional opinions and analyses of the goings on inside and outside of the courtroom she alongside former defense attorney Brian G buckmire was interviewed by Dan Abrams
of news Nation where they discuss the nuances of the insanity defenses in the state of Idaho according to attorney El Co state- of Mind evidence is always irrelevant when it goes to one of the necessary elements of the crime make of that information what you will Dawson’s funeral services were held in the Cloverdale Funeral Home on the 26th of May 11 days after his passing he was buried in teren Lawn Cemetery Adam would say he fell victim to anxiety depression and worst of all thoughts of removing himself from the Earth but the thoughts
of causing his loved ones even more pain stopped him from doing anything irreversible Adam quit his job at a hospital when the sight of a newborn infant gave him an anxiety attack and went to counseling provided by the the US Department of Veterans Affairs he wanted to say in his victim impact statement I will never see Dawson’s first steps I will never hear Dawson’s first words I will never know the sound of Dawson’s laugh or the way he’ll call me dad I’ll never hear the words I love you from him and I’ll never know his
Ambitions or goals in life I’ll Never See Dawson graduate high school or start a family of his own I’ll never know his favorite sport or his favorite car I’ll never know what it’s like to teach Dawson how to fish or ride a bike or or drive a car I’ll never get the opportunity to be patient with him and teach him everything I’ve learned in life a billion first with Dawson and I are gone because of Danielle’s actions despite attorney El Cox’s failure to lower that $1 million amount Daniel was released on recognizance in September
she stayed with her mother and father Adam said in an interview that not long after Daniel was released on bond her father took her to what was once Adam and Danielle’s marital home Adam did not stay the specific purpose of her appearance only that it was sudden and it caught him by surprise Daniel’s father returned After Time passed to get her to leave Daniel snapped at her father in front of Adam freaking out and yelling so much that Adam would decide to put a no contact order in place to distance himself from the mother of his
son Danielle would be arrested a third time for breaking this no contact order in October and she would plead not guilty in front of a judge the specific case against her would be dismissed in August of 2022 following her third arrest Adam filed for divorce the officer who arrested Danielle for breaking the no contact order was one of the same officers who answered the call for EMS on May 11th and even drove Danielle to the hospital this officer witnessed Dawson being resuscitated by EMS three times and would tell Adam he lost sleep at the
thought of this helpless innocent infant in such a state of danger Danielle’s trial was initially scheduled for the 5th of January 2021 it was first pushed to June and then finally to April of 2022 case number was c120 17441 trial took place on the weeks of April 11th and April 18th the prosecution led by Kai witw used Danielle’s inconsistent story testimony for medical professionals and law enforcement and the severity of baby Dawson’s injuries to argue their case they brought Matthew Cox a specialist in CA Pediatrics from St Luke’s to testify
as an expert witness under oath Matthew Cox would say on the stand that Dawson’s wounds were caused by a very violent Force which was also reflected in the medical reports the state of Idaho does not allow for the insanity defense a defendant on trial cannot plead that they are not guilty by reason of insanity but their defense can present evidence the accused did not have the intent to cause harm in criminal law this is called men’s rea and would be the basis for attorney El Cox’s defense the defense argued that Danielle was not
sound of mind while caring for her son they cited the pandemic postpartum depression insomnia and being laid off from her job as the factors that led to Dawson’s passing Danielle claimed that she did not have a perfect memory of Dawson’s injuries an important part of the defense’s argument was Danielle’s state of mind and well-being attorney elcox argued her client’s marriage with Adam mckin was not a happy one and that Adam mistreated her they brought on Dr Nicole H Sereno a educator expert and authority figure of Psychiatry and
Women’s Health at Oregon Health and Science University and she was brought on as expert witness during her time in custody Daniel would meet with Dr Sereno she diagnosed Danielle with postpartum depression exacerbated by previously untreated mental illnesses Danielle attorney of elcox argued suffered from PTSD and anxi because of the mistreatment from Adam Dr Sereno testified it is very very rare for a woman with a prenatal psychiatric condition to harm her child but said there were more factors at play here
including Daniel’s PTSD which developed into postpartum anxiety depression which also led to sleepless nights insomnia and hypervigilance while testifying to the court over Zoom Dr Sereno described Danielle’s hypervigilance as extreme worry that a was constantly in some sort of peril the doctor called the circumstances surrounding Danielle’s environment that being the pandemic the mistreatment and Daniel’s undiagnosed mental ailments as a perfect storm of events that ultimately led to Dawson’s passing in Dr sereno’s words a new
mother experiencing hypervigilance feels that their child is always in danger yet Dawson was often in the care of family members at Danielle’s request Adams and I ever having hurt or mistreated Danielle the courts had records of text messages between the couple dating back before Danielle’s pregnancy with dosson which judge Miller reviewed he told the court he did not find evidence of the mistreatment that Danielle alleged Adam was interviewed in 2022 by Lane of the suffer the little children podcast where he would knowingly or not challenge much
of Danielle’s changing narrative as you know we love Lane and the work she does to hold those who harm our most vulnerable accountable we’ll have a link to the episode in our show notes for you to check out Danielle told police that Dawson had been sick and that she had brought him to the pediatrician one week before his rush to the hospital Adam remembers Danielle took Dawson to the pediatrician for what she thought was a blockage and the doctor said that he was perfectly fine Adam also does not mention Dawson being sick on Mother’s
Day of 20120 the day before his fatal injuries from his memory and even from Danielle’s if her statement at her sentencing is of any worth Dawson was as healthy and happy as any baby could have been in his victim impact statement Adam mckin said he knew Danielle was responsible for Dawson’s death when she told him the story about June knocking Dawson off the couch he would recount how Danielle previously blamed June for bruising around Dawson’s eye that she denied knowing how Dawson once obtained a handprint on his arm and a scratch on
his leg he said that Daniel called him abusive as a way to get out of the consequences of her actions called her spoiled according to Adam Danielle will always choose herself over others she will always have a ready answer for why she has done anything and it will never have anything to do with her it’s always going to be someone else’s fault Danielle had her own prepared statement in which she recalls Dawson smiling at her on Mother’s Day she said the memory of it was the greatest gift she could have ever received and she said I quote
I’m lucky to have that personal memory to hold on to he was so loved by everyone and I can’t put into words how hurt I am that his days were so short on this Earth she still insisted she could not remember the events of May 11th 2020 but also said she could have and should have taken preventative measures so that her son would still be here to this day finally she expressed a wish to be a free woman once again saying I do hope that I can be given the earliest chance to re-enter society which is still no guarantee with a life sentence but no
life sentence will hurt as much as a life sentence I’m living without my son in between Adam and Danielle’s divorce in the sentencing hearing Danielle met and married Trevor farmer he knew of the case against her and believed Danielle’s series of events Trevor was present in the courtroom during Danielle’s sentencing along with members of her family in April of 2022 Danielle took an Alford plea which means a defendant maintains innocence while still accepting sentencing Danielle’s sentencing hearing took over 7 hours
between Danielle’s changing story and the supposed gaps in her memory either investigators lawyers Hospital Staff Judge Miller or even Adam himself know exactly what happened to Dawson all they do know is how badly he was hurt while in his own Mother’s care judge Miller did know that Danielle’s series of events seemed unnaturally f asked according to her it only took 6 minutes to lift Dawson from his baby swing bring him to the changing table try to calm him down put him on the floor realize her mistake realize her phone is missing
run to her neighbor’s house and then call 911 judge Miller called it an awfully fast reaction he also blatantly declared the legal tactics the defense team used such as calling Danielle’s memory retention in psychological state from before during in after Dawson’s injury and death which impeded law enforcement and legal experts abilities to piece together the entire story he did not however hold this against Danielle judge Patrick Miller gave Danielle a sentence of up to life in prison with parole eligibility after 18
years he said failure to take responsibility is a major concern here for the court we want to set a very high standard for parents and for people taking care of children Danielle looked back at her family members MERS in the courtroom audience including her new husband Trevor before she was taken into custody it should be noted that even though Danielle is a married woman that didn’t stop her from posting a personals ad on the website jab.
com Danielle’s legal team tried to appeal the Court’s decision on December 28th of 2022 she has an upcoming appearance in Idaho’s Supreme Court of Appeals on September 11th 2024 the February 2024 issue of the Idaho Advocate A Legal magazine described the appeal as a basis in evidence and I quote whether the district court violated defendants constitutional right to present a defense by excluding expert testimony that due to her mental state defendants use of force or violence upon the minor victim was not willful Danielle is
currently serving her sentence in the South Idaho Correctional Institution in Boise she will be eligible for parole in 2040 when all was said and done Adam says he did think Danielle experience postpartum symptoms for this he had some sympathy for her but he could not forgive what she had done to him to Dawson into his family he said in an interview who I married and who I proposed to were two different people now inspired by a video on social media Adam gifted his father Mike a Build-A-Bear plush with a recording of
Dawson’s heartbeat a friend of Adam’s brother made a bare plush from scratch using two of Dawson’s blankets which Adam cuddles up with every night when he goes to sleep because of his niece’s nickname for Dawson baby dolphin Adam sees images of dolphins and is reminded of the joy his son gave him he has since remarried and has started a new family he would say in an interview that if his unborn child were to be a boy his middle name would be Dawson
