(From left) Jessica Analani Dutro and Brian Cody Canady. A mother and her boyfriend who lived at a Tigard homeless shelter were charged Tuesday in Washington County Circuit Court with killing her 4-year-old son.
Jessica Analani Dutro, 23, was charged with one count of first-degree manslaughter in the death of Zachary Dutro-Boggess, according to court records. Her boyfriend, Brian Cody Canady, also 23, was charged with one count of murder by abuse, court records show.
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(From left) Jessica Analani Dutro and Brian Cody Canady. A mother and her boyfriend who lived at a Tigard homeless shelter were charged Tuesday in Washington County Circuit Court with killing her 4-year-old son.
Jessica Analani Dutro, 23, was charged with one count of first-degree manslaughter in the death of Zachary Dutro-Boggess, according to court records. Her boyfriend, Brian Cody Canady, also 23, was charged with one count of murder by abuse, court records show. Jessica Dutro’s last name was corrected during the hearing; police had initially said her name was hyphenated.
Canady, according to court records, killed Zachary by assaulting him after he had “previously engaged in a pattern and practice of assault and torture” of the child.
The couple reportedly lived together with Zachary and three other children at Good Neighbor Center, a homeless shelter in Tigard. Jim Wolf, a Tigard police spokesman, said the two were arrested Monday afternoon and lodged in the Washington County Jail.
During their arraignment, Dutro and Canady responded from behind a glass enclosure with quiet acknowledgment after Circuit Court Judge Jim L. Fun read the charges against them. Both have court appearances set for Aug. 27.
Family or friends who attended Tuesday’s arraignment declined to comment.
Police began investigating the case after the boy collapsed Aug. 14 and was rushed to a local hospital from the Good Neighbor Center. Wolf wasn’t sure who dialed 9-1-1, but he said multiple people started calling for assistance. The shelter’s staff, Wolf said, stepped in to help.
“They did everything possible,” he said.
Jack Schwab, executive director of the Good Neighbor Center, declined to comment on the staff’s involvement in the case.
“I would love to leave you with the impression that we’re knights in shining armor, but I just can’t give you any of those details because of the ongoing investigation,” he said. “But I will say that we are mandatory reporters under Oregon State Law. We are very vigilant about reporting any signs of abuse.”
Schwab said the case had left the shelter’s staff devastated. “We’re in the business of providing a safe harbor,” he said.
When the boy arrived at the hospital, medical staff found he had suspicious internal injuries, Wolf said. The boy initially was taken to Providence St. Vincent Medical Center and later transferred to Legacy Emanuel Medical Center, where he died Thursday, Wolf said.
An autopsy, Wolf said, revealed the boy died from blunt force trauma to his abdomen and that his injuries occurred 24 to 72 hours before he collapsed. Police do not have any indication that a weapon was used.
Detectives discovered a history of physical abuse by the mother and boyfriend toward the child, Wolf said. He wasn’t sure how long investigators think the abuse had occurred and wouldn’t comment on whether the boy had other injuries.
For about three weeks, the couple had lived at the shelter, where they had private living quarters, Wolf said. They were in the process of obtaining their own housing.
Investigators, Wolf said, believe the abuse which led to the boy’s death occurred in the family’s private living area.
“This is something that staff wouldn’t have had any knowledge of,” said Wolf.
Wolf wasn’t sure where the family lived before they came to the shelter. He said he wasn’t aware of any previous contact between Tigard police and the family.
The three other young children have been taken into custody by the Oregon Department of Human Services, Wolf said. He wasn’t sure if those children were abused.
Tigard police detectives are continuing to investigate.
Findley Merritt and Wendy Owen of The Oregonian staff contributed to this report.