Charge upgraded in infant's death

ALFRED (AP) - A Biddeford man has been indicted on a manslaughter charge in the death of an 11-month-old infant he was baby-sitting last June.

The indictment against Shawn Small, 26, was handed up last week by a York County grand jury after the attorney general's office upgraded charges from aggravated assault.

Small allegedly shook Chason Treadwell on June 15, 2002, two days before the infant died at Maine Medical Center in Portland as a result of lack of oxygen to the brain.

Investigators said Small remains free on bail following the indictment.

No arraignment date has been set.

At the time of the incident, Small was dating the baby's mother, Dawn Treadwell, who lived in the same building on Wentworth Street. Small had two children of his own and occasionally baby-sat Chason, police said.

Small called police to report that the infant was ashen and lethargic.

By the time police arrived, a bruise was spreading across Chason's temple.

An autopsy found that the baby had suffered additional injuries, including broken ribs, believed caused by earlier shakings.

Small moved to Biddeford from Virginia early in 2002, police said.

Chason's father, Richard, also lived in the building but was separated from Dawn at the time of the baby's death.

The Department of Health and Human Services took Small's two children into custody at the time of his arrest. The children, a 4-year-old girl and a 2-year-old boy, remain in the care of a foster parent, DHS spokesman Newell Augur said.

The DHS is working to place the children with their family, possibly their mother, who lives in Virginia but has no permanent address, Augur said.

AP-ES-04-14-03 1210EDT