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In a "shaken baby syndrome'' case, authorities arrest an 18-year-old Citrus County man in the death of his 3-month-old daughter.
By BILL VARIAN and JOSH ZIMMER
© St. Petersburg Times, published September 28, 2000
CRYSTAL RIVER -- Three-month-old Lacie Ammerman-Slater had as many as 17 rib fractures and was bleeding inside her skull when her mother rushed her to a Citrus County hospital Sept. 13.
The child was flown later to Shands at the University of Florida in Gainesville, where she was pronounced brain dead the next day, according to medical reports.
On Wednesday, police arrested the child's 18-year-old father on a charge of first-degree murder in what investigators describe as a case of "shaken baby syndrome." Ricky Slater also faces two counts of aggravated child abuse.
The case will go to a grand jury in October, authorities said.
Police say Slater also is responsible for similar injuries to Lacie's twin, Kelsey, that took place over a month. Kelsey survived and is now in state custody.
"I hear that he loved his babies," said Sgt. Kat Klyap, who headed the two-week investigation for Crystal River police. "Did he really know the injuries he was creating? I don't know that. I honestly believe at the end he did."
Slater was arrested outside an Eckerd Drugs store after a traffic stop. Police were concerned that he was preparing to flee the state.
Also in the 1985 Jeep Cherokee was Debbie Carte, Slater's mother, who lives in Wisconsin, and Lindsey Ammerman, his 16-year-old girlfriend and mother of the twins, as well as an unidentified male. Police discovered packed luggage and a baby's bassinet inside the Jeep. Carte had missed a scheduled interview Wednesday morning with investigators, who learned she had purchased a plane ticket home. They said they did not know whether Slater intended to accompany her.
"He was real cooperative, didn't say much of anything. Nothing," said Sgt. Mike Klyap, who worked on the investigation with his wife. "Nothing's to say for sure if he was going to Wisconsin."
Ammerman was not arrested. Investigators said evidence implicates Slater, who they say was alone with Lacie when she suffered injuries that led to her death.
Attempts to reach relatives of Slater and Ammerman were unsuccessful. Slater was being held at the Citrus County Detention Facility without bail. Investigators say he has stopped speaking to them.
The parents of the twins initially told investigators that Lacie was injured after falling from a couch while being held by her father. That incident occurred two weeks before she was taken to Seven Rivers Community Hospital on Sept. 13, they said.
Ammerman, the mother, has told the St. Petersburg Times that her pediatrician said some of the babies' injuries could have been caused during childbirth. The twins were born a month premature.
The warrant used in Slater's arrest Wednesday counters those explanations.
Doctors who examined Lacie when she was taken to the hospital Sept. 13 told investigators that the injuries that caused her death had occurred in recent days. And an autopsy concluded that the rib and skull fractures occurred that morning, the warrant said.
Lacie was pronounced dead Sept. 15 after being taken off life support.
Ammerman told investigators that she fed both of her babies about 7:30 p.m. Sept. 13. They seemed to be crying a lot, but otherwise seemed fine, the warrant said. She said she went to her mother's house to do laundry and left the babies with Slater at the triplex they shared at 506 NE 9th St.
When she returned 15 minutes later, she said Slater was angry, the warrant said.
"Where the hell have you been?" he reportedly asked her. "Your daughter has been screaming since you left and hasn't shut up."
Ammerman said Lacie appeared unresponsive, her back was arched, her eyes were rolled back and she was gasping for air. Medical workers who examined her at Seven Rivers had her transported to Shands and immediately notified the state Department of Children and Families, which had Kelsey examined as well.
Kelsey had as many as 15 rib fractures, a skull fracture and a broken clavicle, the warrant said. As with Lacie, doctors said the injuries had taken place over three to four weeks, though it's possible the clavicle was fractured during childbirth, it said.
Investigators think Slater had been alone with the babies before reporting injuries to Ammerman, including the reported fall from the couch Aug. 29. He reportedly was alone with the twins before telling Ammerman that Lacie suffered a bruised abdomen after colliding with a playpen mobile, the warrant said.
In addition, Seven Rivers Community Hospital reported that Kelsey was brought to the emergency room on Aug. 26, crying and vomiting blood. The warrant said Slater was alone with the child immediately before the visit.
Ammerman, Slater and the twins lived with Ammerman's mother, Carla Hernandez, until a month before the Sept. 13 hospital visit, the investigators said. They said Slater, who was working at Pro-Line boats, watched the children daily until midafternoon.
Hernandez watched the children in the morning as Slater slept and Ammerman attended Crystal River High School, they said.