Witnesses: Stung boy seemed fine

People who saw the child shortly after he had been stung by yellow jackets testify that he didn't appear to be sick.

By JOE HUMPHREY

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 2, 2000

TAMPA -- In the hours after 2-year-old Harrison Johnson was stung by a swarm of yellow jackets, he showed few signs of being affected by the venom that eventually killed him, witnesses testified Tuesday.

Kelly and Wylie Johnson, Harrison's parents, did not call 911 until seven hours after the attack on Sept. 28, 1998. The couple from Melbourne are standing trial in Hillsborough Circuit Court on charges of aggravated child abuse.

Much of the testimony given Tuesday by the prosecution's witnesses appeared to support the defense's contention that Harrison acted normally in the hours immediately after the attack and then suddenly started vomiting and losing consciousness.

Lil Collier, a friend of the Johnson family, told the court that after he was stung, Harrison was given a warm bath with an oatmeal-based substance used to combat skin irritations. Friends also rubbed another home remedy, onion, on the boy's wounds.

Harrison spoke with others, watched a movie on video and drank plenty of fluids before going to bed. He did not appear to be in as much pain as some of the adults who had suffered stings while rescuing Harrison, Mrs. Collier said.

"It seemed like Harrison had less of a reaction than the adults," she testified.

Carol Balizet, a former registered nurse who lives a few blocks from the Town 'N Country home the Johnsons were visiting, said Harrison was fretful after the attack but did not appear unhealthy.

"There was nothing of a first aid nature going on, but he obviously wasn't being ignored," she said.

Balizet said she would not have called 911 under the circumstances.

"He wasn't inflamed. He wasn't nauseated. What you treat symptomatically didn't exist with Harrison," she said.

Jurors were shown photos taken after Harrison's death. Parts of his body were blanketed with reddish-purple marks. In all, he was stung 432 times.

The witnesses said the marks were the only visible signs that the boy was hurt. But inside Harrison's body, according to a medical examiner, the yellow jackets' venom was taking its toll.

An autopsy by Dr. Scott Kornman, a former Hillsborough County assistant medical examiner who now works in Washington, D.C., found that Harrison's brain had swelled. Kornman testified Tuesday that a person whose brain was swollen would not be able to function normally.

Given that Harrison was described as being active after the attack, Kornman's testimony would seem to support the defense's proposition that the worsening of Harrison's condition came later -- and suddenly.

Glen Vandevere, a family friend, testified that Harrison vomited in his lap and stopped breathing around midnight, seven hours after he was stung. Vandevere started CPR.

Wylie Johnson called 911, and paramedics arrived. Harrison never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead at 1:30 a.m. at St. Joseph's Hospital.

Dr. Dennis Hernandez, who was in St. Joseph's emergency room that night, offered the state's most poignant testimony. Asked what Harrison's chances might have been had he been brought to the hospital earlier, Hernandez said, "I think he would have had a chance."

Christine Ruda, a St. Joseph's patient advocate and nurse, testified that the Johnsons did not want to hold their son after he died. She quoted Wylie Johnson as saying, "We've held him for 21/2 years, and that's long enough."

The state is expected to rest its case after calling one more witness this morning.

Hillsborough Circuit Judge J. Rogers Padgett has already forbidden testimony regarding the Johnsons' religious beliefs, which discourage the use of medicine.

The Johnsons are not expected to testify.

- Times Staff Writer Joe Humphrey can be contacted at (813) 226-3403 or humphrey@sptimes.com.

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