Charge dropped in Harbeson child death case
Prosecutors have dropped a charge of murder by abuse or neglect against a Harbeson man accused of killing his 8-month-old son.
Doyle Hundley, 38, still faces an additional charge of murder by abuse or neglect and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child in the September death of his son, Aiden.
Carl Kanefsky, spokesman for the Delaware Department of Justice, said because the case is still pending, the department cannot provide additional information as to why the charge was dropped.
Hundley is scheduled to face trial in March and is being held on $106,000 cash bail at James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in Smyrna.
Hundley’s girlfriend, Casey Layton, 29, is facing similar charges in Aiden’s death. Police began investigating the couple after a May 2015 911 call reporting that 3-month-old Aiden was suffering from a seizure and was not responsive. The boy was flown to A.I. DuPont Children’s Hospital in Wilmington, where he was admitted in critical condition due to multiple broken bones and a serious head injury. Aiden remained on life support for five months before dying; an autopsy ruled that his death was a homicide due to blunt force trauma to the head. Police said Aiden had numerous other injuries, including a fractured skull and clavicle, a several-weeks-old left femur fracture and an E-coli blood infection. Police said Layton and Hundley offered no plausible explanation for the injuries.
Court records showed Layton and Hundley had a lengthy heroin addiction. When Aiden was born, court records said, he spent 26 days in NICU because of his addiction to drugs and small size. The couple also had a 2-year-old son, who was unharmed and has been placed in the care of the Delaware Department of Services for Children, Youth and their Families.
On the day of Aiden’s hospitalization, court records state Layton saw Hundley holding Aiden. Hundley told her that he tripped and Aiden may have hit his head and leg. When Layton said she was going to call someone, court records say Hundley slammed the boy down in a bassinet and started strangling Layton, telling her he would kill her and the kids if she told anyone he hurt Aiden.
Layton is currently being held at Baylor Women’s Correctional Institution in New Castle on $50,000 secured bond. She is also scheduled to face trial in March.
