News Photo by Reagan Voetberg Judge Laura Frawley, 23rd Circuit Court Judge in Alcona County, is pictured in the courtroom on Tuesday.

HARRISVILLE — Nickolas Corey, 23, had a pre-trial hearing on Tuesday in the 23rd Circuit Court in Alcona County.

It was his first hearing in Circuit Court after being bound over from the 81st District Court for one charge of first degree child abuse.

Corey was bound over on Feb. 20 after preliminary examination.

It is alleged that Corey was awake with his three month old infant on the night of May 22. On the morning of May 23, the child was struggling to breathe, was cold to the touch, and had his arms sticking straight out in front of him with clenched fists. Sabrina Horton, Corey’s girlfriend at the time and mother of the child, called 911 and the child was transported to MyMichigan Medical Center Tawas. From there, the infant was transported to Hurley Medical Center in Flint, and then to University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital.

Dr. Carla Parkin-Joseph, child abuse pediatrician at C.S. Mott testified during the examination that the most consistent diagnosis in relation to the injuries identified for the child would be child physical abuse or abusive head trauma.

Abusive head trauma is the term now used for what was formerly called shaken baby syndrome.

Injuries that the infant sustained include bleeding in both retinas at the back of his eyes, and bleeding inside the skull on both sides, which can be the result of repetitive, rotational, acceleration and deceleration movement, Parkin-Joseph said.

Horton, 22, was formerly charged with first degree child abuse, but that charge was dismissed in a plea deal on Feb. 20. Horton will be sentenced for a charge of using computers to commit a crime and a charge of accessory after the fact to a felony. She will be sentenced at 9 a.m. on April 21.

At Corey’s pre-trial hearing Tuesday, Judge Laura Frawley asked Defense Attorney Bill Pfeifer whether he is demanding a jury, to which he replied yes. Pfeifer and Alcona Prosecuting Attorney Elizabeth Reed said they expect the trial to last at least three days.

Frawley asked whether a plea deal could be reached. Reed responded that she is waiting for the results of video surveillance that could help them reach a deal.

Reed said that she has received a lot of medical records for discovery. She is planning to call a number of medical witnesses should a jury trial occur, and asked whether they need to appear in person. Frawley said that the court has made on occasion an exception for expert witnesses, allowing them to appear via Zoom, but noted that the jury likes to see people in person.

Frawley set a final status conference for 9:30 a.m. on July 7. The jury trial is set for Aug. 19 through 21 and Aug. 24 if necessary.

Reagan Voetberg can be reached at 989-358-5683 or rvoetberg@TheAlpenaNews.com.