“She was a happy baby”: Seven witnesses conclude day 1 of testimony in Wiley murder trial

QUINCY (WGEM) - The murder trial for 35-year-old Travis Wiley, who is accused of shaking to death an infant, began just after 9 a.m. on Tuesday morning with special prosecutor Jon Barnard’s opening statement.

The prosecution’s opening statement

On the morning of Jan. 20, 2018, Barnard said Christina Dunford kissed her daughter, Airyana, and left for work, leaving her with Travis Wiley, who was living with her at the time, at her home on 718 Kentucky in Quincy. Wiley had been dating Dunsford for roughly two months.

Some hours later, Wiley called his girlfriend, saying that the infant, who was 2 months and 3 weeks old, was not breathing. Claiming he couldn’t get through to 911, Dunsford called 911 and then raced home.

Barnard said she was distraught upon arrival. She went into the apartment, picked up her daughter, and brought her outside to first responders, who performed CPR and mechanical ventilation. The infant was later transferred from Blessing Hospital to Cardinal Glennon in St. Louis.

Based on doctors’ early evaluations in St. Louis, Banard said they could only tell that the infant had a lack of blood flow and a lack of oxygen and that there weren’t any underlying conditions such as an illness.

Barnard said Wiley claimed that he gave her a bottle, placed her in a Rock n’ Play, laid on the couch for a nap, and woke up to find the infant not breathing.

Medical examinations found that the infant was brain dead, life support was discontinued and she was pronounced dead around 10 p.m. on Jan. 22.

Barnard said an autopsy the next morning revealed head trauma. Medical reports revealed several months later that the infant died of a closed head injury. He said multiple doctors will testify in this trial.

Later in Barnard’s opening statement, he said cell phone history revealed that there were 13 internet connections on Wiley’s phone at the exact time he said he was napping, including outgoing text messages.

At 2:30 p.m., six phone calls were made in a matter of 10 minutes. Some to Dunford and some to his former girlfriend. Barnard said search history reveals that Wiley read a news article entailing the death of a 3-year-old just before making calls.

Later, Barnard said a woman wore a secret recording device while talking to Wiley several months later. “Where I’m going there is no extradition,” Wiley said in one recording. “I’ve got to get out of this town.” Quincy Police detectives were listening close by during the conversation.

Wiley was arrested on June 29, 2018, and was again interviewed by detectives, recounting his side of the story. Barnard said detectives confronted Wiley, saying that Wiley’s phone records prove otherwise. Wiley responded, “Phones do stuff on their own all the time.” After more questions from detectives, Barnard said Wiley replied in the same way several more times.

Public Defender Todd Nelson’s opening statement

Adams County Public Defender Todd Nelson’s opening statement lasted around 15 minutes. Nelson confirmed that his client, Travis Wiley, was the only one caring for infant Airyana Hoffman in the late morning and early afternoon of Jan. 20, 2018.

Nelson said this event was a nightmare to Dunford and a tragedy for the infant. Nelson said there were no external injuries to the infant, like bruising. In the days leading up to Jan. 20, Nelson said there was an instance of Airyana ceasing to breathe on her own and while under the care of her mother.

Nelson indicated that a medical witness would testify that Airyana died of natural causes. The court went into recess at 10:30 a.m. before the prosecution called its first witness.

“The female was screaming ‘Help my baby’ "

Adams County Public Defender Todd Nelson’s opening statement lasted around 15 minutes. Nelson confirmed that his client, Travis Wiley, was the only one caring for infant Airyana Hoffman in the late morning and early afternoon of Jan. 20, 2018.

Nelson said this event was a nightmare for Dunford and a tragedy for the infant. Nelson said there were no external injuries to the infant, like bruising. In the days leading up to Jan. 20, Nelson said there was an instance of Airyana ceasing to breathe on her own while under the care of her mother.

Nelson indicated that a medical witness would testify that Airyana died of natural causes. The court went into recess at 10:30 a.m. before the prosecution called its first witness.

The prosecution’s second witness

Quincy Police Detective Jessica Hollensteiner was the second witness called by prosecutor Jon Barnard. Hollensteiner arrived after 2 p.m. to Dunford’s home where she talked with Travis Wiley.

She said Wiley told her that he laid down Airyana for a nap, and when he woke up, she was blue in color and not breathing.

Nelson inquired about Hollensteiner asking if Wiley had called anyone else but 911 or his girlfriend, Christina Dunford. Hollensteiner said he did not. Barnard redirected by clarifying a previous question. “Did he call anyone else before he called 911,” Barnard asked.

“No he did not,” Hollensteiner said.

“She was a very happy baby”

Airyana’s mother, Christina Engle, formerly Christina Dunford, was the third witness for the prosecution.

Engle said her daughter was in great condition leading up to the incident on Jan. 20. She said there weren’t any red flags regarding Airyana’s health and development.

“She was a very happy baby,” Engle said. In the time leading up to Jan. 20, Engle said her daughter was put in the care of her parents, and she didn’t give them any warnings about her health aside from her teething, because there weren’t any red flags.

Engle said when she left her daughter in the care of Wiley, she only told him to call her if she was getting fussy because of teething and she’d come home. Engle said she’d left Airyana with Wiley several times beforehand without issues.

There was one instance, where Engle said Airyana held her breath but did not stop breathing, as referred to by Public Defender Todd Nelson in his opening statement. She said that was the only instance of Airyana holding her breath.

One picture of Airyana was published to the jury, followed by a picture of the back of her apartment building. Barnard then inquired about specific furniture in Engle’s apartment. Barnard brought out the rock n’ play that Airyana was in on Jan. 20 when she wasn’t breathing.

Engle was working at Burger King at 7th and Broadway in Quincy at the time of Airyana’s death. She was told by a coworker that she had a phone call, and it was Wiley. She said Wiley told her that she needed to come home because Airyana wasn’t breathing. She said she didn’t ask Wiley if he’d called 911. Engle called Wiley back and asked why he didn’t call 911, and then proceeded to drive home with 911 on the phone. Engle said she didn’t know if he called 911 or not, she was in a panic.

The trip home, Engle said, only took a few minutes. Upon arrival, she said she saw Wiley walking out of the apartment with a cigarette in his mouth and putting a jacket on.

“I said where’s my baby, and he said ‘Oh she’s in here,’ " Engle said. “I rushed into the apartment and that’s when I found her.”

“What did you notice about your daughter,” Barnard asked.

“She wasn’t breathing, her lips were blue,” Engle responded.

“Her eyes, were they open or closed,” Barnard asked.

“Closed,” she responded.

Engle said she began to attempt CPR. When she heard sirens, she took Airyana outside to first responders.

Nelson’s cross-examination and the prosecution’s fourth witness

Public Defender Todd Nelson began his cross-examination directly after lunch recess. Engle said her daughter was fussier than usual in the five or six days leading up to Jan. 20 but still described her as a perfectly healthy baby.

Engle’s mother, Linette Richards, took the stand immediately after. Richards said she was with Airyana the day before she was found lifeless on Jan. 20. She said she, like Engle said, seemed like a perfectly healthy baby.

Richards said Airyana was teething, so that might have been a reason for being fussier.

“She got to the point where a child gets that twinkle in their eyes when they see you”

“She was fine, she was healthy, she was strong, she was developed,” said the prosecution’s fourth witness, Linette Richard’s husband Jerry Richards.

Special prosecutor Jon Barnard continued to inquire about Airyana’s health and development.

“It was the typical bubble-blowing kid that she was,” Richards said about Airyana’s mood on Jan. 19. “I didn’t see any fussing at all.”

Richards said he didn’t notice a runny nose, coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, or flushness in the face.

Nelson’s cross-examination was brief.

Unwrapping the Rock n’ Play

Quincy police officer Kevin Taute was the prosecution’s sixth witness. He was on-call that Saturday, Jan. 20 when Airyana Hoffman was found blue in color and not breathing.

He was dispatched to the Blessing Emergency Room that afternoon, where he talked with Airyana’s mother and father. At one point in his testimony, Barnard asked Taute to step down from the stand to unwrap the evidence paper that covered the Rock n’ Play that Airyana was found in on Jan. 20.

Taute described what the furniture is designed to do. Afterward, Taute said he returned to Quincy Police Department to speak with Travis Wiley. Taute said this was a voluntary interview, but he couldn’t leave. He said the recording device at QPD malfunctioned, so the interview wasn’t recorded.

Taute said that Wiley said Airyana was fussy but then fell asleep and so did he after giving her a bottle. Taute said Wiley woke up to go to the bathroom, then he noticed the baby’s lips were blue, she was blue, and she was unconscious. Taute said Wiley claimed he tried to perform CPR on Airyana by taking her to the bedroom. Afterward, he placed her back in the Rock n’ Play.

Taute discovered late that Saturday night that she had sustained head injuries. Five-plus months later, Taute received the final medical reports.

A recorded conversation

QPD officer Kevin Taute’s testimony continued for over an hour. After an afternoon recess, Taute testified that he obtained an overhear warrant to conduct a recorded conversation with a cooperating witness.

Taute, who was a detective at the time, said a coworker at a gas station that Wiley worked at agreed. Taute said microphones were used, and officers were close by listening. Taute said the witness inquired about Airyana’s death stemming from injuries. The responses from the male voice in the recording, Barnard said, included statements of shaken baby syndrome and that if the male voice had something to do with it, the cops would have thrown him in jail.

Barnard said the recording also learned that the male voice in the recording said he then had trouble falling asleep because of the incident. Nelson objected to Barnard proceeding with questions about the audio recording, arguing that no authentication had been given as to who the male voice in the recording was.

Concluding day 1

Tuesday concluded with testimony from Blessing ER Dr. Antony Wollaston. Wollaston said Airyana’s prognosis wasn’t good, given how long she’d been unresponsive.

After the jury was dismissed for the evening, Barnard said he imagined resting his case around noon on Thursday. Nelson said he imagined wrapping up his case that same day. Closing arguments could happen on Friday.

Seven witnesses took the stand on Tuesday.

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