When Cheryl Metzger became ill during the middle of the night, she left Christopher in the care of her boyfriend, Edgard Anziani, 27. Within a few hours, 911 had been called, and Damien was dead.
Anziani told investigators that he was warming milk to give to the toddler who was crying when he heard a thump. When he investigated, he said that Damien had fallen down a short flight of stairs and that was what caused the boy’s injuries occurred. The evidence found after the examination of the fifteen month-old’s body would tell a very different story.
Damien’s body was taken to the medical examiner’s office in Augusta. Dr. Marguerite DeWitt conducted an autopsy Wednesday. She determined the boy’s injuries “could not be explained by a simple fall down six or seven steps,” the affidavit states.
“The cause of death is listed as non-accidental trauma, and the manner of death has been classified as a homicide,” Bangor police Sgt. Paul Edwards said Thursday afternoon.
The autopsy states the child had “trauma to the brain” that was multifocused, “meaning that they were on all sides of his head, including the front, back, left, right and top,” and he had optic nerve hemorrhages, the affidavit states.
The child also had two broken bones in his right forearm, “consistent with a twisting or bending type cause,” four broken ribs, an abdominal injury, and three small puncture wounds on the bottom of his left foot, it states.
Once the autopsy report was turned over to the district attorney, a murder indictment was issued against him, and he fled the Bangor, Maine area to avoid prosecution. A subsequent warrant for his arrest was issued for Anziani who was described as having a violent past, and a $10,000 reward was established for information leading to his capture. He was found later outside of Washington, D.C. where he was arrested, waived his extradition hearing, and was returned back to Maine.
Damien’s father traveled to Maine to attend his son memorial. He has custody of Damien’s sister two year-old sister. Speaking at the service was family friend, Sasha Stecher, who described the boy as the “happiest kid I ever knew.”
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