Jury selection began Monday in the case of a Los Angeles man accused of beating and stomping a 13-month-old to death before dumping the child's body in a Downtown Long Beach trash bin.
Anthony Jerome Hall Jr. is charged with three felony counts in connection with the slaying of his girlfriend's 13-month-old son, Nathan Cole.
A coroner's investigator, who testified during Hall's preliminary hearing in March of 2009, said the baby was killed after he was slammed against a hard surface, such as a floor or a wall, causing a fatal head fracture; and that the baby was stomped on, causing rib fractures and crushing the child's chest.
Witnesses who testified during the 2009 hearing said they saw the defendant riding the Metro Blue Line from Los Angeles to Long Beach with the baby's body in a trash bag. Once in Long Beach, the battered infant's remains were tossed into a trash bin in an alley near Third Street and Linden Avenue.
Long Beach police officers testified about a message Hall allegedly left on a phone the baby's mother, during which Hall allegedly said he was "sorry" and that he is "not a monster."
According to the calls, Hall became angry with the 13-month-old when he would not stop playing with a phone cord, police testified.
Hall, now 23, was arrested on Sept. 19, 2008, the same day Cole was killed and the same day Cole's remains were discovered by a man who had been sifting through trash looking for recyclables.
At the time of Hall's arrest, police said he was not Cole's father but he was dating the boy's mother and had been watching the child at the time of the killing.
Hall is charged with second-degree murder, assault on a child causing death and child abuse.
If convicted on all counts he faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison.
Jury selection is scheduled to resume today at the Long Beach Superior Court.
Anthony Jerome Hall Jr. is charged with three felony counts in connection with the slaying of his girlfriend's 13-month-old son, Nathan Cole.
A coroner's investigator, who testified during Hall's preliminary hearing in March of 2009, said the baby was killed after he was slammed against a hard surface, such as a floor or a wall, causing a fatal head fracture; and that the baby was stomped on, causing rib fractures and crushing the child's chest.
Witnesses who testified during the 2009 hearing said they saw the defendant riding the Metro Blue Line from Los Angeles to Long Beach with the baby's body in a trash bag. Once in Long Beach, the battered infant's remains were tossed into a trash bin in an alley near Third Street and Linden Avenue.
Long Beach police officers testified about a message Hall allegedly left on a phone the baby's mother, during which Hall allegedly said he was "sorry" and that he is "not a monster."
According to the calls, Hall became angry with the 13-month-old when he would not stop playing with a phone cord, police testified.
Hall, now 23, was arrested on Sept. 19, 2008, the same day Cole was killed and the same day Cole's remains were discovered by a man who had been sifting through trash looking for recyclables.
At the time of Hall's arrest, police said he was not Cole's father but he was dating the boy's mother and had been watching the child at the time of the killing.
Hall is charged with second-degree murder, assault on a child causing death and child abuse.
If convicted on all counts he faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison.
Jury selection is scheduled to resume today at the Long Beach Superior Court.
That man is a sick f**k and will get payback in jail... Remember what they did to Jeffrey Dahmer!