Denver – A private funeral service was scheduled today for a Denver boy who police said was severely malnourished.
Chandler Ashton Grafner, 7, died May 6, about 45 minutes after being transported to a hospital. Officers had responded to his home on a report of an adolescent in cardiac arrest.
His guardians, Sarah Berry, 21, and Jon Phillips, 26, were advised in court Monday that they each would face charges of first-degree murder causing the death of a child under 12, first-degree murder after deliberation and child abuse resulting in death.
Judge Melvin Okamoto rejected a request to unseal court records in the couple’s case. The Denver Post had requested that affidavits for the arrests of the two be made public, along with documents supporting search warrants.
Phillips and Berry were ordered back to court for preliminary hearings in July.
Chandler’s half-brother, who is Phillips’ biological son, has been placed in foster care.
