Denver man accused of killing 2 year old denied bond, court records say he was mother's boyfriend
A Denver judge on Tuesday denied bond for a 38-year-old man accused of killing a 2-year-old child. Nicolas Stout is facing charges of murder and child abuse resulting in death.
Stout was arrested on Sunday. Police received a call early that morning reporting that a child was unresponsive. When officers arrived at a home on South Vrain Street in west Denver, CPR was being performed on a 2-year-old girl. She did not survive.
According to arrest paperwork, Stout was the boyfriend of the child's mother. Police interviewed several roommates at the home. All of them reportedly described Stout as "short fused," "hot headed" and "very aggressive."
Stout and the child's mother initially told officers the girl had been jumping on a bed the previous day and fell, hitting her head. Later, the mother told investigators she saw Stout slap the child twice that night. She said the girl cried briefly, fell asleep and did not wake up the next morning.
Investigators documented bruising across the child's body -- some in various stages of healing -- along with a raised bump on her forehead and other injuries. Police also found several bloody towels and wipes in the trash, as well as a bloody handprint. Stout told officers the blood came from trying to clean a bloody lip the child got after falling off the bed.
The child's father, David Erickson, lives in Pueblo but raised the young girl for the first 18 months of her life before she went to live full-time with her mother. He said he has had his own struggles with drugs and the law, but had turned his life around for his daughter.
"She was the light of my life," he said. "She completely changed who I was. She showed me the world isn't as dark as I thought. I've been dealt a bad hand, and she was my savior. She taught me how to be tough and strong."
Throughout the court documents, Stout denies hitting or abusing the child.
A review of his criminal record shows prior cases including kidnapping and burglary. Denver police records also show multiple calls for service to the home over the past year for issues including weapons and theft.
The Colorado Department of Human Services responded to a CBS Colorado request saying they are not allowed to provide information about any specific reports made to child protective services, however records from the Office of Colorado's Child Protection Ombudsman shows there was prior interaction with this child.