Aguirre said child may have hit ground harder than he thought

Armando Aguirre told an investigator that the 4-year-old child who died in his care may have hit the ground harder than he expected, according to testimony given Wednesday.

Aguirre was bound over for trial following a preliminary hearing on charges of second-degree reckless homicide in the death of his fiancee's child. Prosecutors allege Aguirre swung the child by the legs in reckless a manner that caused him to strike his head. The resulting injuries led to a brain bleed and his death the next day.

Aguirre said the boy suffered a "glancing blow" off the carpet as a result of the swinging, something Sheboygan County District Attorney Joe DeCecco says isn't consistent with the severity of injuries.

Sheboygan County Sheriff's Detective Corey Norlander said during testimony that while Aguirre initially demonstrated the swinging motion he used as horizontal with some minor dipping, he described the motion in a follow-up interview as resembling a carousel — more vertical swinging with only some horizontal movement. Aguirre also told Norlander that the boy may have hit the ground harder than he initially thought.

Aguirre's attorney, Kirk O'Bear, didn't argue against a finding of probable cause, but did question Norlander about the outward signs of the boy's injury. For instance, Norlander said the child had a 1-inch red mark on the back of his head after the incident, but no outward bleeding injury. Norlander also testified there were no signs of damage or blood that would indicate he hit anything other than the floor, as Aguirre stated.

A status conference has been scheduled for June 29 to update the court on the status of medical reports on his injuries.