Fort Collins EMT's son recovering from alleged abuse

The son of a Fort Collins EMT facing felony child abuse charges is recovering from his head injuries and learning to walk, the EMT's defense attorney said in court Wednesday.

Jason Schneider, a 30-year-old EMT at Poudre Valley Hospital EMS, is pleading not guilty to the charges and will begin his trial Nov. 29. The charges stem from a February incident that left the now-1-year-old boy with life-threatening injuries. Prosecutors allege the injuries were the result of abusive head trauma, known colloquially as shaken baby syndrome, while Schneider's defense argues the baby choked on formula, exacerbating preexisting health issues.

During Schneider's pre-trial motions hearing at the Larimer County Justice Center on Wednesday morning, defense attorney Kathryn J. Stimson said she plans to introduce witnesses who can verify the boy is learning to walk and can see, which might refute previous medical testimony about his condition and long-term recovery prospects. Other witnesses will likely testify about the boy's potentially preexisting medical issues.

COURTS:  Fort Collins parents guilty in child abuse case

Also during the motions hearing, Eighth Judicial District Judge Devin Odell ruled out any usage of an hours-long police interview with Schneider, during which he was strapped to a polygraph machine.

Odell said police's decision to use a lie detector during the interview was "disappointing" and called the method "bogus."

"This was a really serious case, and that was just poor interviewing," he said. "And the result is that doesn't make it in court."

A recording of Schneider's 911 call will likely be heard or analyzed during his trial, although defense and prosecution have different interpretations of what he said during the call.

Schneider called 911 about 12:44 p.m. Feb. 18 to report that his 4-month-old child was choking. He told first responders he was feeding his son formula when the infant began choking and lost consciousness, Fort Collins police said previously.

Schneider said he did CPR and back blows on the boy to try to revive him. First responders treated the boy and transported him to Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, where his heart was restarted, prosecutors said. The child was then flown to Children's Hospital in Denver with life-threatening injuries.

Fort Collins police later determined the boy's injuries were consistent with abusive head trauma. Schneider was arrested in March and has remained out of jail on bond.

CRIME:  New search begins for missing Wyoming boy

At a previous hearing, Fort Collins Police Services detective Gary Trujillio cited audio recordings from the 911 call that reportedly captured a distraught Schneider saying, "I tried shaking him, and I (expletive) killed him."

Schneider's private attorney, Kathryn J. Stimson, argued there was no way to prove Schneider was responsible for the serious injuries the child suffered. Stimson said the damaging blood clotting could have happened prior to the choking incident, which only exacerbated the child's then-grave condition.

And as for the 911 call, she said that could have meant he tried to wake the baby before beginning CPR.

Or he could have been crying something altogether, like "I'm just shaking. I hope I didn't kill him."

Editor's note: This story originally incorrectly stated that Jason Schneider​'s son was 9 months old. The story has been corrected.