Edwin Tirado Takes the Stand in His Trial

Edwin Tirado, who is on trial for reckless manslaughter in the death of 13-year-old Johnathan Carey last February, took the stand today. WYNT reports:

Tuesday afternoon, Tirado took the stand in his own defense. Defense attorney Brian Donohue used a bench from the court house hallway to help Edwin Tirado show the jury how he restrained Jonathan Carey, who had autism. He showed jurors how he crossed his arms over the boy’s chest. When it didn’t stop the former aide says he laid the boy down, sat in front of him, grabbing his arms and legs. Tirado told jurors that he stopped the restraint because he thought the boy had fallen asleep.

Under cross examination, Tirado admitted to “working a lot of overtime, even multiple double shifts,” and said that “he was tired and exhausted” the night that Carey died. When prosecutor David Rossi asked “‘Are you telling the jurors that you killed a 13 year old boy because you were tired?’,” Tirado responded “‘No, I didn’t kill him’. He then admitted that he was the only person who placed his hands on Jonathan that night.”

“‘”He was trained to properly restrain Jonathan and he did not do it properly. He was trained in CPR and he did not CPR and he did everything to try to cover up his deeds,’” Michael Carey, Jonathan’s father, is quoted as saying.

Regarding Tirado working overtime, even “multiple double shifts”: I suspect, or at least worry, that this is not unusual.