Nicholas Munden

The death of Nicholas Munden, of Chesterton, has been ruled a homicide, according to a Cook County, Ill., medical examiner's report.

The son of Ronald Brett and Jessica Ann (Tauchman) Munden died from blunt force trauma, according to the coroner's report.

The baby's father is a former resident of Greene County and graduated from Bloomfield High School. The baby's paternal grandparents, Ronald and Diane Munden, live in rural Bloomfield.

Ronald Munden operates a dental office in Bloomfield.

The baby's parents both work at Portage High School, Brett as a vice principal and his wife as a teacher.

No suspects have been named in the case at this time, according to Porter County Sheriff's Department Lt. Chris Eckert, who serves as the department's public information officer.

On Tuesday, Eckert said the investigation was continuing and no arrests have been made.

According to a report that was issued by sheriff's department, the baby's parents had dropped him off at a Liberty Township residence that serves as a day care about 6:45 a.m. on Sept. 19.

Around 12:30 p.m., Nicholas' parents received a call that he was unresponsive.

The infant was taken to Porter hospital and airlifted to the University of Chicago Hospital.

The baby died on Sept. 29 and an autopsy was conducted the next day.

"Basically it's a preliminary investigation by the Porter County Sheriff's Department and my clients are cooperating in every way," an attorney for the parents, Robert Harper, told the Greene County Daily World in a telephone interview Tuesday afternoon.

The boy suffered a subdural hematoma, which causes bleeding in the brain and is a common finding in "shaken baby syndrome," according to the coroner's report, which was prepared after an Oct. 1 autopsy.

The baby had evidence of old injuries, a medical examiner also concluded.

Part of the signs of child abuse were that bruises were only on Munden's brain, not on his outer head, which means Munden didn't accidentally fall and hit his head, the examiner told the Gary Post-Tribune.

Blunt force trauma can often be caused by someone shaking a baby, the examiner said, but can be caused by other means.

The Gary Post-Tribune reported this week that Nicholas Munden had suffered a previous injury that was mistakenly diagnosed as a normal stomach problem.

His parents took him to doctor about two months ago after he vomited, attorney Harper said. At the time, the doctors told his parents that Nicholas had acid reflux, common in infants.

Harper said that Nicholas' parents also discovered an injury to Nicholas' twin brother -- Andrew Jace Munden -- while they were at the University of Chicago Hospital. He said Jessica Munden asked doctors to check on him, too, and doctors discovered a small brain injury. Nicholas' brother was kept in the hospital for a few days, although his condition was not considered an immediate threat, Harper said.

Harper said he did not know much about the day care other than it was a small one. He said it had been licensed when the Mundens started sending their twins there.

The Gary-Post Tribune in its Tuesday edition reported the day-care center has had several run-ins with the state's Family and Social Services Administration.

The day-care center was given a warning by FSSA last week after officials found the business was taking care of eight children when it was not licensed by the state, FSSA spokeswoman Lauren Auld said.

"According to state laws, day-care centers in Indiana can operate without a license only if they care for five or fewer children. Auld said (Deborah) Parlok, who operates the day-care center out of her Big Tree Lane home in Liberty Township, was given a warning. When officials checked back on Friday, Auld said, Parlok was taking care of just three children," the Post-Tribune reported.

Parlok did have a license at one time, but it was revoked in January 2003 for substantiated abuse, although it was given back in December 2003 after an appeal. Parlok opted to close out the license in January 2004, the newspaper reported.

Anyone with information about this case can call Det. Erik Wiseman at 219-477-3136.

FYI

The family requests that memorial donations for Nicholas Munden be made to Greene County CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate), an organization that serves children in need. The address is CASA, c/o Sandy May, P.O. Box 231 Bloomfield, Ind., 47424.