Mother testifies against boyfriend in baby’s death

DOVER, N.H. – The mother of a toddler, who was beaten to death last year, testified against her boyfriend Wednesday though she was impressed with his parenting skills when they first met.

Chad Evans, 30, is charged with second-degree murder and assault in the death of 21-month-old Kassidy Bortner. He was living with the girl’s mother in Rochester when the girl died Nov. 9, 2000.

Amanda Bortner, 19, initially refused to testify for the state, but agreed after being charged last month with two counts of child endangerment and being offerred immunity from prosecution for anything she says on the stand.

On Wednesday, she testified that she met Evans in June 2000 on a blind date. “I really liked him,” she said. “The one thing that really impressed me about him is that he was a really good father.”

Bortner said Evans, who has a son with his ex-wife, even suggested she take Kassidy to a doctor when he noticed the toddler walked slightly pigeon-toed. Bortner took the stand late Wednesday morning and was expected to remain much of the day.

Evans’ lawyers, meanwhile, continued trying to shift the blame to another man.

Lawyer Mark Sisti said police investigators jumped to conclusions and ignored important evidence that points to another suspect, Jeffrey Marshall, the child’s baby sitter.

“You will find out that only four to five weeks before her death she started to go to Jeffrey Marshall’s,” Sisti said Tuesday during his opening statement in Strafford County Superior Court. “That’s not a coincidence.”

Marshall, who lived with Kassidy’s aunt in Kittery, Maine, is expected to testify for the prosecution, but Sisti said jurors should be suspect of everything he says.

“You’re going to see Jeffrey Marshall raise his hand and swear to tell the truth,” he said. “By the time this case is over, you’re going to deliberate and you’re going to ask yourself, ‘Hey, Jeff, is that the hand you used to beat Kassidy Bortner?”

Evans was charged in New Hampshire because police said much of the abuse took place in his Rochester home, though the girl died in Kittery. Investigators say the girl was beaten repeatedly in the months leading up to her death.

On Wednesday, Sisti said Marshall delayed calling 911 the day Kassidy died and as soon as an ambulance and police arrived, started pointing the finger at Evans. Marshall called his girlfriend several times and tried to call the baby’s mother before calling 911, Sisti said while cross-examining a police officer who responded to the call.

“He was quick to deny without being asked about it,” Sisti said. “He was quick to blame without being asked about it.”

Kittery Detective Steven Hamel said the first thing Marshall told him was, “This isn’t what it looks like.”

“I’m not the one that did this,” he quoted Marshall as sayig. “Talk to Chad. He’s the one who’s abusing the baby.”

Anthony Bock, an emergency room doctor at York Hospital, testified that Kassidy probably already was dead by the time the ambulance arrived.

Senior Assistant Attorney General Wiliam Delker in his opening remarks described Evans as a man with a raging temper who would grab Kassidy by the face, beat her and throw her against walls.

Delker said bruises began appearing on the girl shortly after she and her mother moved in with Evans, but that he and Bortner were skilled at making up stories to explain the bruises.