Assistant Prosecutor Lindsey Sheehan told the jury evidence will show Partin caused the injuries to Hannah, a 32-pound girl who who died days later. Hannah traveled next door on that “fateful morning” with her father to Partin’s house. It was early, about 7 a.m., and minutes later Jason Wesche, Hannah’s father, got a call from Partin, who said, “Hannah collapsed.”
Partin gave multiple conflicting statements to Butler County Sheriff’s detectives before finally admitting “to uppercutting Hannah multiple times and poking her in the chest,” between March 6 and March 8, 2018, Sheehan told the jury.
The next day, Partin picked up the girl and shook her to stop her from crying, the assistant prosecutor said.
“All because she didn’t want her father to leave that morning,” Sheehan told the jury.
Defense attorney Melynda Cook Howard told the jury during opening statements that Partin did not injure the child, who was only with her 30 seconds to a minute on March 8, 2018.
Jason Wesche brought his daughter to Partin’s residence that morning with a blanket over the child’s head and her hood pulled up, and “30 seconds later the child collapsed,” Cook Howard said.
On March 6, Hannah and others were playing outside and “Hannah took a face plant” into the ground, Cook Howard said. A day later, Hannah was standing on a toy train and fell “hard.”
“Lindsay Partin told her father that Hannah fell pretty hard, may want to take her to Urgent Care,” Cook Howard said.
The defense attorney told the jury that evidence will show Hannah was not playing at home normally the night before she was fatally injured, Jason Wesche told detectives.
The first witness to testify was Evan Reedy, Hanover Twp. firefighter and EMT, who treated Hannah a the scene.
Reedy said he observed “a lot” of bruising on Hannah, on her eyes and chest, as well as a cut. The bruises were in various stages of healing.
Partin told officials that Hannah had taken a fall the day before, Reedy said.
Reedy said he and his fellow paramedic felt Hannah was unsafe and moved quickly to transport her. He said he thought the girl was “unsafe” in the environment.
Jason Wesche was “hovering” over his daughter and nudging her, Reedy aid.
During cross examination, by defense attorney Chris Pagan pointed out in the report he wrote days after the incident, Reedy said Wesche was shaking the child.
Doctors from Fort Hamilton Hospital and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital where Hannah was taken on March 8, 2018 also testified on Tuesday.
Dr. Anh Nguyen, Fort Hamilton emergency physician, said he saw bruising on Hannah when she was brought to the hospital. She was sick and toxic and needed immediate treatment, he said.
Nguyen used a touch screen that was projected to the jury to circle bruises around Hannah’s eyes, chin and chest. He said he placed a tube down her throat to help her breathe and she was prepared for transport by medical helicopter to the Cincinnati hospital.
The doctor was clear saying “absolutely not” when asked if the treatment could have caused bruising to Hannah.
Dr. Marguerite Care, pediatric radiologist, testified a scan of Hannah’s brain indicated she had bleeding that was pushing the brain. She said Hannah suffered abusive head trauma.
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