The trial of a man charged with murder after police say he threw his girlfriend’s toddler son across a room last year has been pushed back to this fall over objections from the toddler’s family.
Theodore “Ted” Madrid, 31, was supposed to go on trial Monday in Arapahoe County District Court. But, according to court records, the trial was delayed until October because a new public defender recently took over Madrid’s case.
Madrid was charged last year with first-degree murder and two counts of child abuse resulting in death in connection with the Jan. 5, 2011 slaying of Caden Rodgers.
Madrid, who has been jailed since his arrest following the tot’s death, is currently being held on $500,000 bond in the Arapahoe County Jail.
The case has moved slowly since Madrid’s arrest, in part because of a previous change in his defense team.
At a pretrial readiness conference last week, Rodgers’ family said they “strongly object” to any further delays in the trial, according to court records. But prosecutors said the delay was necessary for Madrid’s new lawyer to get caught up on the case before trial, according to court records.
Attempts to contact Rodgers’ mother this week were unsuccessful. The family has previously said they were disappointed by the slow pace at which the case has worked its way through court.
According to court documents, Madrid was baby-sitting Caden in the early morning hours of Jan. 5 when he got frustrated with the boy and threw him over his shoulder. Madrid told police he had been drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana that night.
According to testimony at a preliminary hearing last year, in the hours after his arrest on child abuse charges, Madrid told police he took responsibility for Caden’s injuries. But, Madrid told police, he didn’t mean to hurt Caden and didn’t think the incident was too serious — even though Caden was unconscious and Madrid couldn’t stop the blood gushing from the back of the boy’s head.
“I’m not worried about it,” Madrid told police, according to testimony. “It’s not like I hit him with a belt or an extension chord.”
Prosecutors said the child abuse charges stem from Caden’s injuries and the murder charge is the result of Madrid failing to call 911 to help the boy when he was clearly injured.
Madrid’s previous defense team argued that there was no evidence that the delay in getting help for Caden played a role in the boy’s death.
Reach reporter Brandon Johansson at 720-449-9040 or bjohansson@aurorasentinel.com