DOVER — Jury selection is scheduled for today in the case of a 28-year-old man charged for murder by abuse after the death of an infant in his care in 2012.
The trial of Justin K. Corbett is set to begin next Monday in Kent County Superior Court; he was an airman at Dover Air Force Base when a 19-month-old infant died from injuries suffered on Nov. 3, 2012, while in his care, authorities said,
Justin K. Corbett
Mr. Corbett was watching the toddler while his mother was away from DAFB on a military deployment.
Judge Robert B. Young will oversee the proceedings, with Deputy Attorney General Josette Manning prosecuting for the state and attorney William Deely representing Mr. Corbett.
According to police at the time, officers responded to a 911 call reporting an infant was unresponsive after reportedly falling down a flight of eight carpeted stairs at a residence in the 1000 block of Avocado Avenue in Dover.
The child died from his injuries on Nov. 7, 2012.
An autopsy conducted by the Delaware Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined the child suffered multiple injuries including retinal and other eye injuries, multiple contusions on his head and brain swelling and bleeding.
The cause of death was ruled homicide by blunt force trauma.
Mr. Corbett, listed in court papers as a Magnolia resident, was indicted on April 7, 2014. Trial dates were earlier set for June 16, 2014, and July 13, 2015.