By Matt Neznanski
CORVALLIS - A jury on Friday found a Sweet Home man not guilty of charges stemming from a choking incident with an Adair Village infant.
After five hours of deliberation, the jury found Michael Henthorne, 20, not guilty on all counts.
Henthorne was living with his girlfriend in Adair Village in January 2008 when police accused him of stuffing a paper napkin in the mouth and throat of his girlfriend's infant son, who was then 3 months old.
He was charged with multiple counts of assault and criminal mistreatment.
Payton, the son of Vanessa Morris, had injuries to his esophagus and vocal cords, and was taken to Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Portland, where the boy's esophagus required surgery to fix a tear in his chest cavity.
Although Henthorne wasn't the biological father, his attorney, Nicolas Ortiz, stressed in closing arguments that Henthorne had assumed the role of a parent with the child. Henthorne was alone with the baby and called 911 to report that the child was choking on a napkin.
Ortiz described Henthorne as being "frantic" after the napkin was in the baby's throat and said repeated swipes with a finger might have caused some injury, though likely not the tear in the baby's esophagus.
"Mr. Henthorne was acting like someone who was responsible for an injury, that much he was aware of, and hoping Payton was all right," Ortiz told the jury.
The actual tear, he suggested, may have come from medical personnel, who placed suction and breathing tubes down the baby's throat when treating his injuries.
Prosecutor Karen Stanley said Henthorne initially reported that he was wiping drool or spit-up from the baby's mouth, and that the infant woke up, was startled and sucked in the napkin.
The prosecutor said that Henthorne kept changing his story when told by medical personnel that it was implausible.
But Ortiz countered that detectives were predisposed that Henthorne's actions had caused the baby's injuries and didn't spend enough time investigating other possibilities.