A former Hot Springs man charged with capital murder for the death of his 3-month-old son last year was found fit to proceed to trial Monday in Garland County Circuit Court after a court-ordered mental evaluation.
James Antonio-Carlos Page, 35, now lists a Plattville, Ala., address, but has remained in custody in lieu of $1 million bond since his arrest Nov. 6, 2015. He was charged with first-degree domestic battery at the time of his arrest, but the charge was upgraded to capital murder two days later after the victim, Zayden Page, died at Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock.
If convicted, Page could face up to life in prison or the death penalty in the case. Prosecuting Attorney Terri Harris confirmed Tuesday that the death penalty has not been formally waived at this point.
A motion for Page to undergo a mental examination was filed Feb. 10, 2016, and the examination at the Arkansas State Hospital was initially scheduled for April 19. It was later rescheduled for May 26 and completed. The mental evaluation report was sealed as part of an order limiting pretrial publicity, but Page was found to be fit to proceed.
Page appeared in court Monday with his attorney, Clay Janske, who did not object to the findings of the report. A pretrial date is now set for Oct. 31, with the trial set to begin Nov. 8.
According to the affidavit, on Nov. 6, 2015, around 7:30 p.m., Dr. Karen Farst, an emergency room physician at Arkansas Children's Hospital, notified Hot Springs police about a 3-month-old male brought into the ER with injuries that included a burn around his neck, a broken collarbone, rib fractures and multiple bruises to his head and face.
Farst stated the victim had been in the custody of his father, identified as Page, all day and that Page had said the injuries were due to a fall. Farst stated in her opinion it was impossible that the injuries were sustained from a fall.
According to hospital personnel, at one point Page stated he was leaving the hospital and fleeing back to his home state of Alabama.
Page later came to the HSPD voluntarily to provide a statement and was interviewed by police Detectives Chris Hays and Kenneth May. During the interview, Page stated he had taken his fiancee to work earlier that morning and arrived back at the residence around 10:30 a.m.
He said the baby was crying and continued to cry, so Page picked him up from his car seat and "shook him violently." After some time, when the baby continued crying, he said he threw the victim into his car seat and that the victim continued to cry after being thrown.
The affidavit notes Page is approximately 6 feet, 2 inches tall, and was standing up holding the victim when he threw him into the car seat, which was located on the floor.
Page admitted that after approximately 30 minutes he noticed the victim was not breathing and that he took him to the hospital at that point. The victim was initially taken to CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs and then airlifted to Children's.
Local on 06/22/2016