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Man ‘burned toddler’s genitals with blowtorch and dumped boy’s corpse in bin’
A man accused of murdering a boy of just 2-years-old set fire to the toddler’s genitals with a blowtorch.
The shocking crime has shaken the people of the US state of Wyoming.
Local news channel KPVI reports that the man has just appeared before a judge at the Laramie County District Court.
He is accused of killing the child and dumping his battered and burned body in commercial dustbin. In court on Monday he denied felonies.
Wyatt Dean Lamb faces counts of first-degree murder along with 10 other felonies including child abuse with injury. If guilty of murder, he could face the death penalty.
Laramie County District Judge Steven Sharpe scheduled Lamb’s two-week trial for January 4 next year.
The court was told some of the evidence.
The news station says Athian Rivera was reported missing by his mother, Kassandra Orona, around 1pm on February 19. His body was discovered two hours later in a dumpster just outside an entrance to Orona’s apartment in the 400 block of Desmet Drive.
A post mortem found death was from brain swelling caused by blunt force trauma, restriction of oxygen or both. Laramie County Coroner Rebecca Reid determined Athian died between 11am and 1pm that day.
His body had been wrapped in a bedsheet and blanket which in turn had been stuffed into five black plastic rubbish bags.
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In his report, forensic pathologist Dr. James Wilkerson noted "scattered blunt force injuries over much of the body" including multiple contusions and abrasions, as well as burn marks on the toddler’s genitals, upper legs, and groin area consistent with a handheld torch found at Orona’s apartment.
Athian's death was a homicide, they concluded as it was caused by cerebral edema with herniation, with three contributing factors: blunt force injuries, suffocation, and thermal injuries. They were "non-accidental trauma" injuries, according to the affidavit.
State Public Defender Diane Lozano, who represents Lamb in the case, and Laramie County District Attorney Leigh Anne Manlove agreed that the trial was likely to take two weeks.
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