MISSOURI STATE HIGHWAY PATROL
a division of the
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

Troop B Headquarters - 308 Pine Crest Drive - Macon, Missouri 63552


NEWS RELEASE

For further information please contact: Sergeant Brent J. Bernhardt
(660) 385-2132
B12112
November 11, 2012

EMPHASIS: Randolph County Resident Arrested Following The Investigation Of A Child Death


On Sunday, November 11, 2012, at approximately 8:50 a.m., the Randolph County Sheriff's Department was notified that a family was transporting an unresponsive male child to the Moberly Regional Medical Center in Moberly, Missouri. Upon officers arrival at the hospital, 18-month-old Jayden Bradds, of rural Clark, Missouri, had been pronounced deceased. Members of the Missouri State Highway Patrol's Division of Drug and Crime Control were requested to assist with the death investigation. On November 11, 2012, at approximately 2:45 p.m., Joe Laswell, 23, of rural Clark, Missouri, was arrested for domestic assault in the second degree and child abuse, with additional charges pending. Laswell, an acquaintance of the child's mother, was transported to the Randolph County Jail where he is currently being held on a 24-hour hold. The investigation is on-going, and an autopsy has been scheduled for Monday, November 12, 2012, at the Boone County Medical Examiner's office in Columbia, Missouri.
The charges for which Laswell was arrested are mere accusations and are not evidence of guilt. Evidence in support of the charges must be presented before a court of competent jurisdiction whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
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