Man faces manslaughter charge in death of 3-year-old
Retrial of Robert Knutsen begins in Superior Court
BY JENNIFER AMATO Staff Writer
The retrial of Robert Knutsen, a 32- year-old man from Middletown, and formerly of North Brunswick, who is charged with manslaughter and child endangerment in the death of 3-year-old Nikolas Chavez in 2005, began last week in state Superior Court, New Brunswick.

Nikolas Chavez

The incident originally occurred on Nov. 30, 2005, just two months after Nikolas had turned 3. According to the testimony of North Brunswick police officers Mark Ventola and Scott Henry, a call came in to the

dispatch center that the young boy — who was Knutsen's fiancée's son, and his own godson — was suffering from a seizure. Ventola said that around 10:45 a.m. he arrived on scene and immediately began administering CPR. Henry arrived as back-up, and Nikolas was transported within 20 minutes to Robert

Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick from his home on Adams Lane in North Brunswick.

According to the testimony of Investigator Mark Clements of the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office, the autopsy report showed that Nikolas had suffered a broken back and internal bleeding due to blunt-force trauma less than one hour prior to the 911 call.

However, the defense team, led by Robert Honecker and Greg Gargulinski, is arguing that an injury suffered just days before Nov. 30 could have been aggravated by the boy's reported seizure, and therefore could have ultimately led to his death.

Vijaya Radhakrishna testified that Nikolas, who was her patient since March 2005, had been seen several times in her office over the course of eight months, mostly for various ear, eye and throat infections she called "not unusual" for a boy his age.

She said that she examined Nikolas on Nov. 29, the day before he died, for back pain since he had fallen in his mother's bathroom after a bath two nights before. She said that there was "a very tiny swelling" mid-spine and that "it was not black or blue in color" and "his movements were not inhibited." She said she only recommended ice and some Motrin for the pain.

"I was not impressed by the examination," Radhakrishna said.

The pediatrician also said that despite referring Nikolas for a speech and neurological evaluation, due to a concern about his having a developmental delay and a family history of such disorders in his family, he was able to express himself.

Sandra Sersen, a speech pathologist at the Eden Institute in Princeton, had treated Nikolas from August 2005 until Nov. 29, 2005, during which she said he was participating in both speech and physical activities.

"He was progressing very well, especially with his expressive [language]," she said, while reviewing spreadsheets that chronicled his improvement.

Also, Nikolas' mother, Nicole Rosol, his grandmother, Debra Rosol, and his greatgrandmother, Mary Snook, all testified that despite the boy being a little stiff and somewhat tired, he was walking around and playing with his toys in the days leading up to his death.

However, Honecker said that since no X-rays were done of Nikolas' back, the injury could have been worse than originally expected, especially considering the boy had also visited the pediatrician's office on Oct. 25, Oct. 28 and Nov. 8 for complaints of body pain.

"Four times in a month this child is coming to you with back pain and you did not order any MRIs or X-rays," Honecker said.

Honecker also questioned Vicki Craig, the pediatric critical care nurse in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, who saw Nikolas on Nov. 30. Craig testified that the boy "was very ill. He was in extremely poor condition. He had very low blood pressure even on very high amounts of medication. … His pupils were dilated and nonreactive. … He was pale, he was cold. His heart rate … was very low for the blood pressure and was of concern. He was dying."

Craig said Nikolas' stomach was "distended" and "firm," which she said is not uncommon after a prolonged resuscitation. However, she said that CPR does not cause a fractured back or internal bleeding, whereas the boy's abdomen was filled with one-third of his blood volume. She also said that a seizure can cause shock, which in turn can cause a tendency to bleed, known as disseminated intravascular coagulation.

Craig also said that if a child is picked up without knowledge of a prior fracture, it is "possible" to destabilize the prior injury.

Honecker also argued that Craig's opinion that "[Nikolas' injuries] occurred the day that Nikolas presented in the ER" was formed based on information she received after the autopsy report was released, and that the opinion could have been biased.

In addition, Honecker said that investigators did not take the names of or statements from anyone other than Nicole Rosol or Knutsen for weeks after the boy's death, and said that since police told Nicole Rosol that Knutsen was the prime suspect in the death of her child, that he became a target.

He also accused Clements of already having a preconceived notion that Knutsen was responsible for the boy's death because Clements testified that Knutsen was not "panicked" during the 911 call and because he prejudged that Knutsen had a "deer in headlights" look when investigators visited the family the night Nikolas died.

Yet Clements said that based on discrepancies between the 911 call and two taped statements made by Knutsen, in addition to the autopsy results, investigators had every reason to believe Nikolas' injuries occurred the morning of his death while he was in Knutsen's care.

The original trial, putting forth a charge of aggravated manslaughter, ended in a hung jury in October 2007. The retrial will last through at least next week.