Accused child murder suspect pleads not guilty - KOTA Territory News

Accused child murder suspect pleads not guilty

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A Colorado man has pleaded not guilty to second degree murder charges in connection with the death of a Rapid City child.
 
Edward Berges, 23, is accused of causing the death of his girlfriends two year old child in August.

He's charged with second degree murder, as well as manslaughter, aggravated child abuse and aggravated infant battery.

He faces a mandatory life sentence plus 40 years if found guilty on all charges. Second degree murder carries a mandatory life sentence.

The night of August 15th, police found an unresponsive 2-year-old girl, who had been left in the care of  Berges, her mother's boyfriend.

The girl was transported to Sanford hospital in Sioux Falls where she died a day later.

Captain Marty Graves with the Pennington county Sheriff's office confirms the cause of death was blunt force trauma.

Berges is not known to have any prior criminal history, but prosecutors say there were signs of prior child abuse on the victims body.
 
"Based on the medical reports we believe there were some injuries that extended beyond this incident, the cause of death," said Ryan Ryder, Deputy State's Attorney in Pennington county.
 
Berges' bond is set at $500,000. He will be back in court on October 16th.

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