An Olympia man serving nearly 12 years in prison for abusing his son faces additional charges because the boy since has died.
Authorities think the injuries the boy suffered when Shane Dean Olsen threw him to the ground July 6, 2010, because he wouldn’t stop crying contributed to his death. Prosecutors have him with homicide by abuse, or in the alternative, second-degree murder.
Olsen, was sentenced to 11 years and eight months in prison in October 2010 after pleading guilty to first-degree assault of a child, second-degree assault of a child and one count of first-degree criminal mistreatment.
The 1-year-old died July 25, 2011, at Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma. A Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office report says the baby’s cause of death was related to the assault.
According to court papers:
Olsen’s then-2-month-old son was taken to Capital Medical Center in July 2010 because he was having trouble breathing. The child was transferred by helicopter to Mary Bridge with life-threatening injuries.
Olsen assaulted the boy while watching him at the home of his girlfriend’s sister, where the family had been staying. The child’s mother said she was at work for less than five hours and when she returned, she discovered that the boy was having trouble breathing.
Mary Bridge doctors told investigators that the baby suffered large skull fractures on the left side of his head, multiple rib fractures, a lacerated liver and a broken neck. The baby underwent two blood transfusions and was placed on a respirator.
A doctor told investigators that part of the boy’s brain was dead and that he would never “interact with his environment.”
The boy had indicators of earlier abuse. A doctor said the boy had been slammed against something and punched in the head at least twice.
Olsen gave conflicting explanations of how the boy was hurt. He first blamed accidental falls and bumps. During Olsen’s last explanation before his arrest, he said he became frustrated and threw his son on the floor, then on the couch, because he would not stop crying.
Jeremy Pawloski: 360-754-5445
jpawloski@theolympian.com
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