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Thread: Charles Thomas Stacks Sentenced to LWOP in 2015 NC Murder of 2-Year-Old Jaxson Sonny Swain

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    Charles Thomas Stacks Sentenced to LWOP in 2015 NC Murder of 2-Year-Old Jaxson Sonny Swain


    Jaxson Sonny Swain




    June 7, 2017

    Grand jury indicts Winston-Salem man on murder charge in connection with toddler's death


    By John Hinton
    Winston-Salem Journal

    A Forsyth County grand jury indicted a man Monday on charges of first-degree murder and other offenses in connection with the death of a toddler in August 2015.

    Charles Thomas Stacks, 31, is accused of killing Jaxson Sonny Swain, a 2-year-old boy, who died of head injuries on Aug. 19, 2015 at Brenner Children’s Hospital.

    Prosecutors have filed for a Rule 24 hearing, which determines whether they can pursue the death penalty against Stacks, if he is convicted.

    Jaxson was found unresponsive Aug. 16 in a bathtub at a home in the 5400 block of Grubbs Street, Winston-Salem police said.

    Charles Stacks lived in the home with Megin Elizabeth Stacks. At the time, police didn’t describe their relationship.

    Police described Jaxson’s death as a case of child abuse. Charles Stacks was a friend of Jaxson’s mother, Candace Swain.

    The grand jury also indicted Charles Stacks on charges of intentional child abuse; inflicting serious bodily injury; possession of a firearm — a .45-caliber handgun — and altering or destorying its serial number; and felony possession of cocaine, according to the indictment.

    He is accused of biting Jaxson on various parts of his body, a court record shows. The man was caring for Jaxson the day the child’s injuries were reported, police said.

    Jaxson died three days after he was found in the bathtub, the result of bleeding between the surface of his brain and its outer covering, which was caused by a blunt force head injury, according to the autopsy report by Dr. Donald Jason, a Forsyth County medical examiner.

    The autopsy showed that the boy had bruises on his head, face and torso, as well as bleeding and bruising in his genital area.

    The warrant alleges that the abuse occurred between Aug. 11 and Aug. 19.

    Charles Stacks was being held without bond Tuesday in the Forsyth County jail, the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office said. He is scheduled to appear in court July 3 to answer the charges in the indictment.

    Megin Stacks has been charged with misdemeanor obstructing justice in connection with Jaxson’s death. She is accused of telling her four children not to cooperate with police or Forsyth County Child Protective Services, according to an arrest warrant.

    She is free on a $1,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court June 27.

    http://www.journalnow.com/news/crime...2998ab96b.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Death penalty sought in brutal death of Winston-Salem toddler

    By John Hinton
    Winston-Salem Journal

    A Winston-Salem man will face the possibility of the death penalty in connection with the death of a 2-year-old boy who prosecutors say had injuries so severe that he wouldn’t have been able to have talked or walked again if had lived, a judge ruled Wednesday.

    Charles Thomas Stacks
    , 31, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Jaxson Sonny Swaim, who died from head injuries on Aug. 19, 2015, at Brenner Children’s Hospital. A Rule 24 hearing was held in Forsyth Superior Court to determine if Forsyth County prosecutors can pursue the death penalty if Stacks is convicted.

    Judge David Hall of Forsyth Superior Court granted the request.

    Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Martin said in court that Jaxson Swaim had bruises and abrasions on every part of his body and had severe head injuries. Doctors who treated Jaxson determined that he had suffered an “acute and catastrophic” injury, Martin said.

    “If he had lived, he would never walk or talk again,” she said.

    Martin said Jaxson had bite marks on his body that were later identified as human and his testicles were swollen. He also had abrasions on his genitals, Martin said. According to an autopsy report, Jaxson died as a result of bleeding between the surface of his brain and its outer covering, which was caused by a blunt force head injury.

    Candace Swaim, Jaxson’s mother, was friends with Stacks and lived with Stacks and his wife, Megin, in the Stacks’ house in the 5400 block of Grubbs Street. Other people also lived in the house, including other children, Martin said.

    Martin said Candace Swaim was dealing with substance abuse issues and struggling to find housing. That’s why she ended up moving in with the Stackses, Martin said. Candace Swaim was often not in the house, instead staying at a nearby motel. On Aug. 16, 2015, she left the house to stay at the motel, Martin said.

    Megin Stacks also left the house for about an hour on Aug. 16, 2015, Martin said. Megin Stacks is facing a misdemeanor charge of obstruction of justice. She is accused of telling her four children — ages 12, 11, 7 and 7 — not to cooperate with police or Forsyth

    County Child Protective Services while the agencies were investigating allegations of abuse involving 2-year-old Jaxson. Megin Stacks’ next court date in Forsyth District Court is Sept. 19.

    Martin said that on Aug. 16, 2015, Megin Stacks returned to the house and Jaxson vomited. He was placed in a tub of ice water. Jaxson was taken that day to Brenner. On Aug. 19, 2015, Jaxson was taken off life support and died.

    Martin said prosecutors had found three aggravating factors for pursuing the death penalty — that the alleged murder was especially heinous, atrocious or cruel; that the murder was committed during the commission of a specified felony, felony child abuse; and that Charles Stacks had previously been convicted of a violent felony in Virginia in December 2008.

    Nils Gerber, Stacks’ attorney, said he understands that these are just allegations that prosecutors have to prove in a court of law and that he knows the purpose of the hearing.

    “Mr. Stacks didn’t commit this crime and didn’t inflict these injuries,” he said.

    Gerber filed a motion to set bond. Stacks had been held at the Forsyth County Jail without bond since he was arrested in 2015. Gerber said that the discovery in the case is large and Stacks has already been in jail for two years. He said Stacks’ parents are willing to have Stacks live with them under whatever conditions the judge imposes.

    Martin objected to setting bond. She said Stacks had no visible source of income but maintained a house and possessed drugs.

    “We believe he is an inappropriate candidate for bond considering he is facing the death penalty,” she said.

    Hall denied the motion for bond. Martin said a trial could be held as early as April 2018.

    http://www.journalnow.com/news/crime...6fcd9f333.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Trial of Winston-Salem man in death of toddler scheduled for September

    By John Hinton
    Winston-Salem Journal

    A Winston-Salem man rejected a plea deal and is scheduled to go to trial for murder this September in the death of a 2-year-old boy who had human bite marks on his body and severe head injuries.

    Charles Thomas Stacks
    , 32, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Jaxson Sonny Swaim. Winston-Salem police officers found Jaxson at a house on Grubbs Street with abrasions on his body and head injuries on Aug. 16, 2015. The boy died from head injuries on Aug. 19, 2015 at Brenner Children’s Hospital.

    If convicted, Stacks is facing a possible death sentence. On Tuesday, Stacks rejected an offer by Forsyth County prosecutors in which prosecutors agreed to take the death penalty off the table in exchange for Stacks entering a guilty plea to first-degree murder, said Nils Gerber, one of his attorneys. Under the proposed deal, he would have been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

    “He is not guilty and as such, he rejected that plea,” Gerber said. Lawyer Stephen Ball also represents Stacks.

    Under state sentencing guidelines, a defendant convicted of first-degree murder can be sentenced to either life in prison or death. The only way for a defendant to get the death penalty is to be convicted of first-degree murder in a trial and have a jury recommend the death penalty.

    Forsyth County Assistant District Attorneys Jennifer Martin and Amara Hunter are prosecuting the case. Martin declined to comment on the plea deal or the case Tuesday.

    A trial has been tentatively set to start the week of Sept. 17. Gerber said there is a large amount of discovery in the case.

    Stacks had been caring for Jaxson at 5450 Grubbs Street on Aug. 16, 2015. Martin said during a hearing in July 2017 that Candace Swaim, Jaxson’s mother, was friends with Stacks and his wife, Megin, and had lived with the Stackses at their house on Grubbs Street. Other people lived at the house, including other children, Martin said at the hearing.

    Candace Swaim
    had been struggling with substance-abuse issues and had struggled to find housing, which led her to move in with the Stackses, according to Martin. On Aug. 16, 2015, Candace Swaim, who was not often at the house, left to stay at a nearby motel, Martin said.

    Megin Stacks also left the house that day and when she returned, Jaxson vomited. Jaxson was placed into a tub of ice water and then taken to Brenner. On Aug. 19, 2015, he was taken off life support and died.

    Megin Stacks is facing a misdemeanor charge of obstruction of justice in which she is alleged to have told her four children not to cooperate with police or Forsyth County Child Protectice Services. Her charge is still pending in Forsyth District Court. She is scheduled to appear in Forsyth District Court on Feb. 27.

    Martin said in court in July 2017 that Jaxson had bite marks on his body that were later identified as human and his testicles were swollen. He also had abrasions on every part of his body. Doctors who treated Jaxson said he had suffered an “acute and catastrophic” injury, Martin said. She said if Jaxson had lived, he would never have walked or talked again.

    According to an autopsy report, Jaxon died from bleeding between the surface of his brain and its outer covering, which was caused by a blunt force head injury.

    Detective K.J. Burns of the Winston-Salem Police Department wrote in an affidavit for a 2017 search warrant that Charles Stacks admitted to biting Jaxson and “is suspected to be responsible for all of Jaxson’s injuries.”

    Charles Stacks is being held at the Forsyth County Jail without bond.

    http://www.journalnow.com/news/crime...b65bb639f.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Judge vacates order that prosecutors said had stalled investigation into death of 2-year-old boy; trial is scheduled for September

    By Michael Hewlett
    Winston-Salem Journal

    A Forsyth County judge vacated a court order Friday that prosecutors said was preventing the testing of physical evidence in a case involving the death of a 2-year-old boy nearly three years ago.

    Charles Thomas Stacks, 32, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Jaxson Sonny Swaim, who died Aug. 19, 2015 at Brenner Children’s Hospital. Winston-Salem police found the child three days earlier at a house in the 5400 block of Grubbs Street.

    Jaxson had abrasions all over his body and head injuries. Stacks was not Jaxson’s father but had been friends with Jaxson’s mother, Candace Swaim, and had been taking care of him.

    An autopsy report showed that Jaxson died from bleeding between the surface of his brain and its outer covering that was caused by a blunt-force head injury. Jaxson also had bite marks on his body that were later identified as human, prosecutors have said.

    Forsyth County prosecutors are pursuing the death penalty against Stacks. A trial is scheduled to start the week of Sept. 17.

    At a hearing in Forsyth Superior Court on Friday, Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Martin said that an order signed by Judge Andy Cromer on Aug. 11, 2017, has kept analysts at the State Crime Lab from testing physical evidence that Winston-Salem police detectives seized. That includes a hair found on a Louisville baseball bat that could either belong to Stacks or to Jaxson, according to a motion Forsyth County prosecutors filed seeking to vacate Cromer’s order.

    The physical evidence also includes DNA and 50 hair samples taken from Stacks, red-colored stains taken from near a table leg and from a corner in a bedroom at the house, and a blood and hair sample taken from the autopsy of Jaxson, the motion said.

    Attorneys Nils Gerber and Stephen Ball are representing Stacks. Assistant District Attorneys Amara Hunter and C. Ruffin Sykes are prosecuting the case along with Martin.

    The issue during the hearing was what might happen if certain physical evidence, particularly DNA, can’t be re-tested after it has been analyzed. Stacks, Gerber said, has the right to examine the evidence against him, including DNA and other biological evidence.

    Martin and Hunter argued, however, that defendants have the right to examine and challenge that evidence after it has been tested, not before.

    Another issue was that the order was signed after an ex parte hearing, which, in this case, meant that prosecutors were not present when Cromer heard the matter on Aug. 11, 2017. Gerber said in court that prosecutors were notified about the order on Aug. 14, 2017. Prosecutors said they did not realize the consequences of the order until they submitted a rush order to the State Crime Lab on Jan. 22 to have the evidence tested.

    A lawyer with the State Crime Lab told prosecutors that the crime lab could not test the evidence because of language in the court order. The second paragraph of the order said that “all of the above agencies are prohibited from consuming all trace, blood or

    DNA evidence of Jaxson Swaim, or the defendant or anyone else whose trace, blood, or DNA evidence was obtained, without prior notice and order of the Court,” according to the motion.

    Martin said in court Friday that the order has stalled the criminal investigation for seven months. Cromer, who presided over Friday’s hearing, said that was not his intent.

    Cromer vacated the order but he wanted to set up safeguards to make sure parties are notified if analysts realize that a piece of evidence can’t be re-tested after analysis. Gerber offered several options, including the possibility of a defense expert being present in the lab.

    Martin objected strongly to any suggestion that defense experts be in the lab. The State Crime Lab has specific protocols to protect the integrity of its work, she said. She also said it would create burdens if the State Crime Lab had to notify prosecutors about evidence that could not be re-tested.

    Gerber said he understands that it might be burdensome, but he reminded Cromer that his client’s life is on the line, if he is convicted of first-degree murder and gets the death penalty.

    Cromer ultimately ordered that the State Crime Lab notify prosecutors if certain evidence gets to a point where it can’t be re-tested.

    Martin said requiring that would likely delay the trial for months.

    http://www.journalnow.com/news/crime...3011f9e64.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Trial of Winston-Salem man charged in 2-year-old's death continued until March 2019

    By Michael Hewlett
    Winston-Salem Journal

    The trial of a Winston-Salem man accused of killing a 2-year-old boy has been continued to March 2019.

    Charles Thomas Stacks, who turned 33 on Tuesday, is charged with first-degree murder and faces the possibility of the death penalty if he is convicted. He is accused of killing Jaxson Sonny Swaim.

    Winston-Salem police found 2-year-old Jaxson unresponsive at a house on Grubbs Street with abrasions and what were later identified as human bite marks on his body and head injuries.

    The child was taken to Brenner Children’s Hospital, where he died on Aug. 19, 2015. Stacks was not the child’s father but was taking care of Jaxson.

    Stacks also faces felony child abuse, inflicting serious bodily injury, and a number of unrelated charges, including drug possession, simple assault and two counts of possession of a firearm by a felon.

    He was scheduled to go on trial starting the week of Sept. 17, but his attorneys, Nils Gerber and Stephen Ball, said in court papers that they would not be ready for trial by that time for a number of reasons.

    Judge Ed Wilson of Forsyth Superior Court granted the motion to continue that Stacks’ attorneys filed and agreed that the trial would start the week of March 4, 2019.

    Gerber said he will not seek any further continuances for the trial. Forsyth County prosecutors did not oppose the motion to continue.

    Gerber and Ball argued in their motion to continue that they still have to get through a tremendous amount of evidence in the case, including witness interviews and the recordings of 600 phone calls Stacks made from the Forsyth County Jail.

    They said there are another 300 phone calls they learned about recently that Stacks made at the jail through another inmate’s account.

    Gerber and Ball said they also have sought expert witnesses that they need for the penalty phase of the trial.

    During a death penalty case, the trial is split into two phases. The first is the guilt phase where prosecutors put on evidence to prove that the defendant is guilty of the crime.


    If a jury comes back with a guilty verdict, the trial moves into a penalty phase. And this is where prosecutors put on evidence of aggravating factors that justify the death penalty, and the defendant’s attorneys put on evidence of mitigating factors to persuade a jury to recommend life in prison without the possibility of parole.

    Gerber and Ball said the experts they have need to conduct more interviews and they also need to get a neuropathologist to testify in the case. To be adequately prepared for trial, they said they needed at least five months.

    Gerber and Ball also sought to get medical and other kinds of records for Charles Stacks’ three stepchildren, a girl and two boys, who were in the house the day Jaxson was found. Megin Stacks, the wife of Charles Stacks, is the biological mother of the children. Charles Stacks is the biological father of a fourth child.

    According to motions filed by Gerber and Ball, Forsyth County Department of Social Services removed the three children from Megin Stacks’ care and they all live in Virginia with their maternal grandmother. Megin Stacks is currently facing a misdemeanor obstruction of justice charge. She is alleged to have told her four children not to cooperate with Forsyth County Child Protective Services or law enforcement in the investigation into Jaxson’s death. Her case is pending.

    Gerber and Ball said the children are likely to testify in Charles Stacks’ trial and they have gotten information that the children have had behavioral and mental-health issues since Jaxson’s death. They want the medical records because they believe those records might contain evidence that could help their defense.

    Forsyth County prosecutors Jennifer Martin and Amara Hunter opposed the motion. Wilson made no decision and left it up to the trial judge, who has not yet been named, to consider the motion.

    https://www.journalnow.com/news/crim...93c9929ba.html
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    Judge: Attorneys for Winston-Salem man accused of killing 2-year-old boy can have access to medical and other records needed for defense

    By Michael Hewlett
    Winston-Salem Journal

    Attorneys representing a Winston-Salem man accused of murdering a 2-year-old boy will get access to that boy’s records and the records of several other children who were at the house where police say the boy was physically abused, a Forsyth County judge ruled Friday.

    The records are related to the first-degree murder case against Charles Thomas Stacks, 33. Forsyth County prosecutors say Stacks killed 2-year-old Jaxson Sonny Swaim. Winston-Salem police found Jaxson on Aug. 16, 2015 at a house on Grubbs Street with abrasions on his body and head injuries as well as what were later identified as human bite marks. The child died on Aug. 19, 2015 at Brenner Children’s Hospital. Forsyth County prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Stacks if he is convicted of first-degree murder.

    Police and prosecutors say Stacks wasn’t Jaxson’s father but had been caring for him at 5450 Grubbs St. They said Candace Swaim, Jaxson’s mother, was friends with Charles Stacks and his wife, Megin Stacks, and had lived with the couple at their house on Grubbs Street. Other people, including children, lived at the house. The Stackses had four children. Charles Stacks is the biological father of one of those children.

    Judge Stuart Albright of Forsyth Superior Court reviewed some of the records in his chambers and ruled that the information was relevant to provide to both prosecutors and defense attorneys. Some records have yet to be produced, and other records Albright provided to attorneys on both sides without reviewing them. Charles Stacks is scheduled to go on trial for first-degree murder in March.

    Nils Gerber and Stephen Ball, Charles Stacks’ attorney, had sought medical and other records for Jaxson, his sister, Izzabella, and the Stacks’ four children. According to court records, social-service workers had opened up an investigation into Candace Swaim for abuse and neglect of her two children before and after Jaxson’s death. That investigation spanned Forsyth, Stokes and Rockingham counties.

    Separately, Megin Stacks, 34, had her four children removed from her custody after a DSS investigation. Those children now live in Virginia Beach, Va., with their maternal grandparents, according to court records.

    Gerber and Ball were seeking those records to see if there was any favorable information that could help in the defense of Charles Stacks at trial. They said in court papers that many of those children could be called as witnesses at trial because they were in the house on the same day that prosecutors say Jaxson was physically abused.

    Gerber and Ball said in court papers that they were seeking medical records for Jaxson because it might contain information that indicates he had pre-existing conditions. They also said that based on information they had already reviewed, they believed Jaxson had the ability to communicate and may have made statements to medical personnel that could be favorable to Charles Stacks.

    According to an autopsy report, Jaxson died from bleeding between the surface of his brain and outer covering, which was caused by blunt force head injury. Search warrants executed in 2017 and 2018 said police officers searched the house on Grubbs Street and seized, among other things, a baseball bat. An analyst with the State Crime Lab confirmed that a hair fiber was found on the bat.

    Detectives seized hair samples from Stacks in order to determine whether the hair from the bat belonged to Stacks or Jaxson, according to search warrants.

    Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Martin said in a previous court hearing that Candace Swaim struggled with substance-abuse issues and had trouble finding housing, leading her to move in with Charles and Megin Stacks. She was staying at a nearby motel and was not at the house on Aug. 16, 2015, Martin said.

    Megin Stacks left the house that day as well and when she returned, Jaxson vomited, Martin said. Jaxson was placed in a tub of ice water and then taken to Brenner, where he was taken off life support and died Aug. 19, 2015.

    Martin said Jaxson had bite marks on his body later identified as human and that his testicles were swollen. Doctors who treated Jaxson said he suffered an “acute and catastrophic” injury, Martin said in court and added that if Jaxson had lived, he would never have walked or talked again.

    Megin Stacks is facing a misdemeanor obstruction of justice charge in which she is alleged to have told her four children to not cooperate with Forsyth County Child Protective Services or law enforcement. Her case is still pending.

    Charles Stacks is in the Forsyth County Jail with no bond allowed.

    https://www.journalnow.com/news/crim...3d36086a0.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Two-year-old who police say was murdered lived in a drug den in Winston-Salem, prosecutors say

    By Michael Hewlett
    Winston-Salem Journal

    A 2-year-old boy who police say was physically assaulted and killed by a Winston-Salem man spent the last two weeks of his life in a house described by a Forsyth County prosecutor Tuesday as a drug den where heroin was sold and used and where three guns were discovered.

    Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Martin said Charles Thomas Stacks, who is charged with murdering the boy, sold heroin to the boy’s mother and had her work as a prostitute.

    Martin said that Stacks was angry that the mother owed him $300 and that he was frustrated with having to take care of the boy on the night prosecutors said he physically abused the child.

    Stacks’ attorneys vehemently denied those allegations in court, alleging that the mother gave inconsistent statements and that she owed Stacks only $80.

    Stacks, 33, is charged with first-degree murder and felony child abuse in the death of Jaxson Sonny Swain.

    Paramedics and Winston-Salem police found Jaxson the night of Aug. 16, 2015. He was unconscious and lying in a bathtub of cold water . He was taken to Brenner Children’s Hospital, where he died from his head injuries three days later.

    According to prosecutors and an autopsy, Jaxson had bruises and human bite marks on his body and died from brain bleeding caused by blunt force trauma.

    Stacks is also charged with possession of a firearm by a felon, possession of heroin and possession of a firearm with an altered serial number. Prosecutors want to try those charges at the same time as the murder and child-abuse charges. Stacks’ attorneys objected to that.

    Prosecutors are pursuing the death penalty against Stacks.

    The trial is scheduled to start the week of March 25 in Forsyth Superior Court. A hearing was held Monday and Tuesday on pretrial motions in the case.

    Much of the time was spent on a motion to suppress statements Stacks made between Aug. 16 and Aug. 17, 2015, while Winston-Salem police were seeking to search his home. Stacks’ wife, Megin Stacks, initially gave consent to search the residence but Charles Stacks refused, eventually prompting police to file for and obtain a search warrant, according to testimony at the hearing.

    Megin Stacks has been facing a misdemeanor obstruction of justice charge and was charged Friday with felony accessory after the fact to felony child abuse. She is accused of putting a diaper on Jaxson, cleaning up the crime scene and telling her children not to cooperate with the investigation, according to an arrest warrant.

    House used for drugs

    According to testimony and prosecutors, Charles and Megin Stacks lived at the house at 5450 Grubbs Street. They had one young child together, and Stacks was stepfather to his wife’s three other children. Candace Swaim, Jaxson’s mother, stayed on and off at the Stacks house the last two weeks of Jaxson’s life.

    Martin said Swaim was addicted to heroin. Martin described Charles Stacks as a low-level drug dealer who not only sold Swaim heroin but also had her work as a prostitute at a motel 3 to 5 miles from his house in exchange for money and drugs.

    Martin said that in some instances, Charles Stacks took care of Jaxson in one motel room while Swaim worked in another room.

    She also said Megin Stacks took provocative pictures of Swaim to use for Backpage, a now-closed website that authorities alleged was used for prostitution.

    Stephen Ball, one of Stacks’ attorneys, questioned Swaim’s credibility and said she got her drugs from someone else and only went to Charles Stacks if her primary drug dealer was busy.

    On Aug. 16, 2015, Jaxson was at the Stacks’ house. Prosecutors said that, at time of the abuse, Candace Swaim had left to go to the motel, and Megin Stacks had also left the house.

    At issue during the hearing this week were statements Charles Stacks made to police while officers were investigating an allegation of child abuse.

    Several Winston-Salem police officers who also wore body cameras testified that Charles Stacks made the statements without any questions or other prompting from the officers.

    Nils Gerber and Ball, attorneys for Charles Stacks, argued that Charles Stacks was effectively detained during much of the 12-hour period when officers were at the Grubbs Street residence.

    In several instances, Charles Stacks gave an explanation for Jaxson’s injuries. He told officers that Jaxson had urinated and that he took Jaxson into the master bedroom to change his diaper. Jaxson was standing on a coffee table, vomited and fell to the ground. According to Charles Stacks, Jaxson hit his head and began having a seizure.

    He also told investigators that another child bit Jaxson at a park.

    According to testimony, Charles Stacks also told officers that he cleaned up the vomit with towels. Martin said many of the statements were relevant because, in some instances, Stacks provided information about where items were in the house, although those items weren’t in those places when police searched the house.

    Sgt. Todd Collins testified Monday that he had to secure the property and make sure that Charles and Megin Stacks did not go in or out of the house without officers and he told Stacks that he was not allowed to go into the house or leave the property.

    Prosecutors argued that Stacks was not in custody and that he made numerous statements without any questions or other prompting from law-enforcement officers.

    Alleged abuse detailed

    Ron Davis, a retired detective with the Winston-Salem Police Department, said that he talked to a doctor at Brenner Children’s Hospital and observed Jaxson briefly. He said Jaxson had two black eyes and had bruises all over his body. The doctor told him that the right side of Jaxson’s skull had to be removed to relieve swelling of the brain, Davis said in court.

    In previous hearings, Martin has said that Jaxson had catastrophic injuries and that, if he had lived, he would not have been able to walk or talk again. She also said Jaxson’s testicles were swollen. Davis said he saw bruise marks on Jaxson’s body that were in different stages of healing and he immediately called the police department’s forensic unit to send people to take photographs of Jaxson’s injuries.

    Two other detectives, Mike Poe and Dan McCarthy, testified that they overheard Charles Stacks tell his children not to cooperate with police because police officers lie and “set people up.”

    Ball and Gerber said in court that they strongly objected to Martin’s characterization of the evidence and said that Candace Swaim had given inconsistent statements to police.

    They also called into question the credibility of another potential witness named Joshua Justice, who Martin said talked to Stacks about the case while at the Forsyth County jail.

    Ball said in court that Justice had asked about a possible deal if he provided information about Stacks.

    Martin said in court that Justice volunteered the information and never received any concession for his cooperation.

    Judge Stuart Albright of Forsyth Superior Court did not immediately make a decision on any of the pre-trial motions argued in court Monday and Tuesday. He said he will likely make a decision Friday morning.

    https://www.journalnow.com/news/crim...f23f7e112.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    2-year-old’s death is at the center of a trial that began Monday. Charles Stacks could face the death penalty if convicted

    By Michael Hewlett
    Greensboro News and Record

    Jury selection started Monday in the trial of a Winston-Salem man accused of physically attacking and killing a 2-year-old boy in 2015.

    Charles Thomas Stacks, 33, is charged with first-degree murder and felony child abuse, inflicting serious bodily injury in the death of Jaxson Sonny Swain. The name has been misspelled in previous Journal stories and in some court papers, but court officials said Monday that the correct spelling is Swain.

    Stacks is also charged with possession of heroin.

    If Stacks is convicted of first-degree murder, he could face the death penalty. Defendants convicted of first-degree murder have two possible penalties — life in prison without the possibility of parole or death. North Carolina has not executed anyone since 2006 due to extensive litigation around the death penalty and the repealed Racial Justice Act, a law that allowed defendants to challenge their sentences if they believed racial bias played a role in their cases.

    Paramedics and Winston-Salem police found Jaxson the night of Aug. 16, 2015. He was unconscious and lying in a bathtub of cold water. He was taken to Brenner Children’s Hospital, where he died from head injuries three days later.

    An autopsy report said Jaxson died from bleeding around his brain that was caused by blunt-force injuries. According to the autopsy and prosecutors, Jaxson had bruises and human bite marks on his body.

    In previous hearings, Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Martin has said that Jaxson’s injuries were acute and catastrophic and that doctors said if he had lived, he would not have been able to walk or talk again.

    Eighty people were brought in Monday for jury selection, which is expected to take at least a week. The trial could last up to two months. The panel of 12 jurors ultimately chosen could have to participate in two phases of the trial. Jurors will first have to determine if Stacks is guilty of murdering Jaxson.

    If they do find Stacks guilty, the trial moves into a second phase, which is sentencing. Prosecutors would present evidence they believe makes Stacks deserving of the death penalty. Defense attorneys Nils Gerber and Stephen Ball would present evidence for why Stacks should be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

    During a hearing on pre-trial motions earlier this month, Martin described the house where Jaxson was found as a drug den. Charles Stacks and his wife, Megin Stacks, lived at the house at 5450 Grubbs St. with their four children. Candace Swain, Jaxson’s mother, was friends with the Stacks family and stayed at their house off and on during the last two weeks of her son’s life.

    Martin said Candace was a heroin addict at the time and that Charles Stacks was her drug dealer. She also said Candace Swain worked as a prostitute at a hotel several miles from the house in exchange for money and drugs.

    Martin said Charles Stacks was angry that the mother owed him $300 and that he was frustrated with having to take care of the boy on the night prosecutors said he physically abused the child.

    Stacks’ attorneys have denied those allegations in court, alleging that the mother gave inconsistent statements that she owed Stacks only $80.

    Candace Swain is expected to testify during the trial. Also expected to testify is Megin Stacks.

    On Monday, a Forsyth County grand jury indicted Megin Stacks on charges of felony accessory after the fact to felony child abuse and misdemeanor obstruction of justice. She is accused of putting a diaper on Jaxson, cleaning up the crime scene and telling her children not to cooperate with the investigation into his death, according to the indictments.

    https://www.greensboro.com/news/crim...b73a074b2.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Jury seated in death-penalty case. Winston-Salem man accused of assaulting and murdering 2-year-old boy in 2015

    By Michael Hewlett
    Winston Salem-Journal

    Starting Monday, a Forsyth County jury will begin hearing the graphic details of how a 2-year-old died in 2015.

    The panel of jurors will have to decide ultimately two things — whether Charles Thomas Stacks intentionally assaulted and killed Jaxson Sonny Swain, leaving bite marks over his body, and if so, whether Stacks deserves to be put to death.

    Stacks, 33, is on trial for first-degree murder and felony child abuse inflicting serious bodily injury in Jaxson’s death in August 2015. He is also facing a charge of heroin possession.

    If he is found guilty of first-degree murder, a jury will then have to determine whether Stacks will get the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole.

    The jury of 12, plus three alternates, was impaneled just after 3 p.m. Friday. The alternates will participate in deliberations only if one of the 12 jurors cannot. Jennifer Martin, C. Ruffin Sykes, Amara Hunter and James Dornfried are the prosecutors. Nils Gerber and Stephen Ball are representing Stacks.

    Opening statements start at 9:30 a.m. Monday in Courtroom 5A. The trial is expected to last four to six weeks.

    According to prosecutors, Charles Stacks and his wife, Megin Stacks, lived in a house at 5450 Grubbs St. They were friends with Jaxson’s mother, Candace Swain, who had been staying at the house off and on for the last two weeks of Jaxson’s life. The Stackses had four children. Charles Stacks was stepfather to three of Megin’s children, and he was the biological father of one of her children.

    Paramedics and Winston-Salem police officers were called to the Stackses’ house on Aug. 16, 2015, and found Jaxson unconscious and lying in a bathtub of cold water. He was taken to Brenner Children’s Hospital, where he died three days later.

    Police and prosecutors say Charles Stacks was the only one taking care of Jaxson at the time he was found unconscious. Charles Stacks told Winston-Salem police that Jaxson urinated on himself and that he took the child into the master bedroom to change his diapers, according to testimony at a hearing earlier this month on pre-trial motions. Charles Stacks said he placed Jaxson on a coffee table and went to get the diapers.

    When he turned around, Jaxson was vomiting and then fell off the table, hit his head and started seizing.

    Forsyth County prosecutors have argued that Jaxson had catastrophic and acute injuries so severe that if he had lived, he would not have been able to walk or talk again.

    Ron Davis, a retired detective with the Winston-Salem Police Department, testified at an earlier hearing this month that he talked to a doctor at Brenner Children’s Hospital and observed Jaxson briefly. He said Jaxson had two black eyes and had bruises all over his body. The doctor told him that the right side of Jaxson’s skull had to be removed to relieve swelling of the brain, Davis said in court.

    In previous hearings, Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Martin has said Jaxson’s testicles were swollen. Davis said he saw bruise marks on Jaxson’s body that were in different stages of healing and he immediately called the police department’s forensic unit to send people to take photographs of Jaxson’s injuries.

    The autopsy said Jaxson died from bleeding around his brain that was caused by blunt-force injuries.

    A key witness in the case will be Candace Swain, who is expected to be one of the first people prosecutors will call to the stand.

    Gerber and Ball have not publicly said whether Charles Stacks will take the stand. He is under no obligation to testify because he is presumed innocent and the burden is on prosecutors to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt.

    In a hearing earlier this month, Martin said that Candace Swain was a heroin addict and that Charles Stacks was a mid-level drug dealer. She described 5450 Grubbs St. as a drug den. She said at the time of Jaxson’s death, Candace Swain was working as a prostitute in exchange for money and drugs.

    She also said Charles Stacks might have been angry at Candace Swain because she owed him $300 and he was frustrated at taking care of Jaxson. Gerber and Ball have vehemently denied those allegations and said Candace Swain owed $80.

    An investigative report by the medical examiner indicates that Candace Swain maintained at one point that her son’s injuries were not the result of abuse. She told investigators that the bruising on Jaxson’s face happened when he was sliding on a bed leaned against a wall and the bed fell on him.

    Megin Stacks is also facing charges. On Monday, a Forsyth County grand jury indicted Megin Stacks on charges of felony accessory after the fact to felony child abuse and misdemeanor obstruction of justice. She is accused of putting a diaper on Jaxson, cleaning up the crime scene and telling her children not to cooperate with the investigation into his death, according to the indictments. No trial date has been set in her case.

    https://www.journalnow.com/news/crim...e60472680.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Prosecutors: 2-year-old tortured to death. Defense attorneys say he had injuries before the alleged abuse

    By Michael Hewlett
    Winston Salem-Journal

    A Forsyth County prosecutor said Charles Thomas Stacks tortured a 2-year-old boy to death, leaving bite marks and bruises all over his body and resulting in traumatic brain injury.

    But one of Stacks’ attorneys argued in court that the boy had bruises and bite marks before the alleged incident that led to his death.

    Charles Thomas Stacks, 33, is on trial for first-degree murder and felony child abuse, inflicting serious bodily injury in the death of Jaxson Sonny Swain in August 2015. Stacks is also being tried for possession of heroin. If convicted of first-degree murder, Stacks faces the possibility of getting the death penalty.

    Stacks and his wife, Megin Stacks, were friends with Candace Swain, Jaxson’s mother. Swain started living with the Stackses at their house at 5450 Grubbs St. in early August 2015. She brought along Jaxson and his older sister, Izzabella, who was 7 at the time.

    They stayed at the house off and on.

    Paramedics and Winston-Salem police found Jaxson unconscious in a bathtub of cold water on Aug. 16, 2015. He was taken to Brenner Children’s Hospital, where he died three days later from bleeding on the brain caused by blunt-force trauma. Prosecutors allege Charles Stacks was taking care of Jaxson at the time of the incident.

    Prosecutors have described the house as a drug den. Candace Swain was addicted to heroin and worked as a prostitute. Her credibility and her choices as a mother will play a significant role in the trial, based on opening statements Monday.

    Assistant District Attorney C. Ruffin Sykes said Charles Stacks provided Candace Swain with drugs and was also her pimp. But despite Swain’s choices, Jaxson was a happy, healthy and normal 2-year-old boy who loved LEGOS and Spiderman, Sykes said. At his last visit with a pediatrician in June 2015, he had a cold but there were no signs that he was physically abused, Sykes said.

    “The only thing that changed in Jaxson’s life was the introduction to the defendant,” he said.

    But Stephen Ball, one of two attorneys representing Stacks, argued that Jaxson had bruises on his body before he ever set foot in the Stackses’ home. Candace Swain initially told authorities that the bite marks came from a girl who bit Jaxson while playing at a park, he said.

    He also portrayed Candace Swain as a woman so addicted to heroin that she frequently neglected her children to the point that Jaxson’s father, Larry Sapp, contacted DSS officials in Stokes County. Family members offered to take in Candace Swain’s children because they were concerned for their care, Ball said.

    Sykes, however, argued that Charles Stacks changed his story several times. When a firefighter responded to the scene, Charles Stacks said Jaxson had thrown up and then became unconscious, Sykes said.

    When a police officer with the Winston-Salem Police Department arrived, Stacks said Jaxson vomited and had started seizing.

    According to body-camera videos played at an earlier hearing on pre-trial motions, Charles Stacks told officers that Jaxson had urinated on himself. Stacks told officers that he took the child into the master bedroom to change his diapers. He placed Jaxson on a coffee table, went to get the diapers and when he came back, Jaxson had vomited, fell off the table and began having a seizure.

    The first witness Monday was Mildred Dixson, Jaxson’s great-aunt. She said Jaxson was “vivacious, sweet, funny, mischievous like all little boys.”

    The last time she saw Jaxson was just before she and her mother took off for vacation in late July. She saw no bruises on him, she said. Under cross-examination, she said she is now Izzabella’s legal guardian and that Candace Swain lost custody of her daughter.

    Dr. Rima Joy Jarrah, who works in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, testified that Jaxson had traumatic brain injury. A part of his skull had to be removed to relieve swelling in the brain. He also had respiratory and cardiac failure as well as other symptoms directly related to the loss of brain functioning, she said.

    She also saw multiple abrasions and lacerations all over his body. He had bruises on his genitals that were red. And he had bruises in various stages of healing, Jarrah said.

    Doctors performed what is known as a brain pediatric death exam to determine whether Jaxson had lost all brain functioning, she said. They found no brain function, she said.

    Jaxson died on Aug. 19, 2015.

    The trial will last at least four weeks.

    https://www.journalnow.com/news/crim...58f202f43.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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