Relatives of hurt baby may receive custody

PORTLAND – A severely injured infant whose parents are wanted for killing another child will stay in Maine while authorities determine whether relatives in Indiana are fit to take custody.

Jason Hann and Krissy Werntz waived their right Tuesday to custody of their 6-week-old son, who is being called “Baby Jason” by authorities.

The Maine Department of Human Services took temporary custody of the infant last week after Hann and Werntz were arrested at a Portland motel.

Both parents face murder charges in Arkansas, where daughter Montanna was found Feb. 18 in a plastic container in a camper trailer. Police say the couple traveled across the country with her body for months.

The couple became suspects in the death of a second child after Hann provided information to Portland detectives that led to the discovery of another infant’s body in Lake Havasu, Ariz.

Baby Jason, who suffers from shaken baby syndrome, has blood clots on the brain and fractures to the skull, ribs and legs.

Additional tests at a hospital have revealed that the infant also suffered from hypoxia, or a lack of oxygen to the brain.

The condition of the infant, who now is in the custody of a foster mother, is improving, said Newell Augur, spokesman for the Department of Human Services.

Three women, identified as Krissy Werntz’s mother and two aunts, were not allowed inside Tuesday’s closed hearing in Portland District Court.

They sat outside the courtroom, blowing kisses to Werntz as she walked by in handcuffs and shackles, before leaving without comment.

The relatives are from Fort Wayne, Ind., and have expressed interest in taking custody of Baby Jason, Augur said.

Last week, Human Services Commissioner Kevin Concannon said Werntz told authorities that her family had a history of abuse.

Child welfare officials in Indiana will conduct a background check on Werntz’s relatives and will make a recommendation to officials in Maine.