Chloe Carol Cunningham, a little girl who spent most of her short life a blind quadriplegic as a result of child abuse, will be buried today in Littleton.
When she was 2 months old, Chloe was injured while in the care of her father, Antonio S. Orgill.
Five-year-old Chloe died Friday from pneumonia, a complication of her medical condition, said Arapahoe County Coroner Michael Doberson. She weighed 24 pounds and was 2 feet, 7 inches tall at the time of her death.
In 2004, Orgill, now 44, pleaded guilty to felony child abuse causing serious bodily injury and is serving a 10-year sentence at Trinidad Correctional Facility. He will be eligible for parole in February 2010.
Chloe’s death is classified as a homicide, but authorities said Orgill can’t be tried for killing his daughter because he already was prosecuted for the crime.
“This is an unfortunate situation and a terrible tragedy concerning the child,” said Kathleen Walsh, spokeswoman for the Arapahoe County district attorney’s office.
“We cannot retry the individual because that would be double jeopardy.”
Aurora police Lt. Troy Edwards said he waited a year after Chloe was injured to file a criminal case against Orgill so the father could not escape prosecution for murder if Chloe died.
“It’s really sad,” Edwards said. “I worked cases like this a lot. This one, for some reason, really hit me.”
After Chloe was injured, “she just had basic motor skills,” Edwards said. “She could suck, but she could not see. She cried every once in a while.”
On Jan. 11, 2002, Chloe’s mother, Julie Cunningham, came home from work and noticed the baby’s arm was pulsating and that her eyes “pulled to the right” and appeared to be out of focus, according to an arrest affidavit written by Edwards.
Cunningham took Chloe to the hospital despite Orgill’s suggestion that they wait until morning, the affidavit said.
When the baby got to the hospital, doctors noticed Chloe was bleeding internally on both sides of her head. The baby also had bruises on both sides of her arms and on her left leg.
The mother overheard doctors say Chloe had suffered a skull fracture. She told police that she knew Orgill had done something to the baby, the affidavit said.
“His attorney would never let me talk to him,” Edwards said of Orgill. “He made comments to the effect that it was sort of his fault, but he would not say anything. The guy I think just got really frustrated. I can only imagine that he probably never had kids before.”
During the investigation, Edwards learned Orgill told medical personnel and a priest two different stories of how Chloe got hurt – that he dropped her while changing her diaper and that he might have injured her trying to get her into a car seat.
“It’s all my fault,” Orgill told a doctor, according to the court records. “God forgive me.”
Chloe’s family has asked that donations be made to the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome, 2955 Harrison Blvd., No. 102, Ogden, UT 84405.
Tips for coping
Child abuse can occur when parents get frustrated with a crying baby. Experts offer this advice for coping:
- Rock the baby while holding the child close and repeatedly bending at the knees.
- Sing or talk to the baby in a soothing voice.
- Gently rub or stroke the baby’s back, chest or stomach.
- Offer a pacifier or try to distract the baby with a toy.
- Swaddle the baby with a soft blanket.
- Take the baby for a ride in a stroller or in the car.
- If nothing works, it’s OK to leave the baby in a safe place and take time to calm down. Call a friend or relative for help.
For more information, visit www.dontshakeababy.com
Source: The Children’s Hospital and the Kempe Foundation
Staff writer Felisa Cardona can be reached at 303-954-1219 or at fcardona@denverpost.com.
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