The baby's eyelids were swollen with fluid. His head was misshapen and marked by dark reddish-purple bruises. And the 15-day-old boy suffered multiple fractures that stretched 14 inches across his skull.
The infant's father, Kenneth G. Ryan, told police last year that he blacked out after inhaling the spray from a can of electronics cleaner and awoke to find his son injured.
Yesterday, the 21-year-old Catonsville man pleaded guilty to charges of second-degree murder and child abuse, admitting that he inflicted the injuries that caused the baby's death.
"As with so many of the cases that we see in the courthouse, this case unfortunately is based on human foibles and human fallibility," defense attorney Jerri Peyton-Braden said after the brief hearing. "We'll be asking the judge to take that into consideration."
But Baltimore County prosecutor Leo Ryan said he will ask a judge to sentence the defendant to two consecutive 30-year prison terms for the convictions.
"I do believe the injuries were deliberate - and that's reflected in the plea," he said.
Kenneth Ryan, whose parents say he has long struggled with drug addiction, did not say much during yesterday's hearing.
He politely answered a series of questions from his lawyers and Baltimore County Circuit Judge Robert N. Dugan about whether he understood the rights he was giving up by pleading guilty. And he told the judge that the medications he is taking at the county jail - including anti-hallucinatory and mood-stabilizing drugs - did not cloud his ability to understand the court proceedings.
The baby's mother, Alisia Woody, did not speak during the hearing and quickly left the courtroom when it was over. She could not be reached later for comment.
After Kenneth Ryan was led out of the courtroom by sheriff's deputies, his mother, Ellen Ryan, began to weep softly.
"You did nothing to cause this," Peyton-Braden told her. "This is one of those things that just happened. God only knows why."
Police were called shortly after 8 p.m. on Feb. 26, 2007, to the Dundalk home of the baby's grandmother and mother for a report of child abuse. Officers were told that a 15-day-old infant at the house had a black eye and "something wrong with his head," according to charging documents.
When officers arrived, the baby's grandmother was holding Julian Woody, who was having trouble breathing and gasping for air, according to court documents.
Taken first to the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, the baby was then flown by helicopter to the Children's National Medical Center in Washington. Doctors there determined that Julian had suffered multiple skull fractures, intracranial bleeding and bruising to the right side of his face.
Doctors told homicide detectives that "significant force" had to have been used to cause the baby's injuries and that they were not consistent with an infant simply being dropped, prosecutor Leo Ryan told the judge.
Julian died less than 24 hours later.
Kenneth Ryan told police that he was watching his son that evening while the baby's mother and grandmother took naps, according to charging documents.
"After giving various accounts, he said something happened to the baby and that he was responsible," the prosecutor said.
Kenneth Ryan told detectives that he blacked out after taking "a large inhale" of Dust-Off, a product that uses a burst of gas to clean computer keyboards and other electronics.
Young people call the practice "dusting." It has become an increasingly popular choice for those seeking a cheap high. Several teenagers and boys have died from inhaling the substance, according to news accounts.
Kenneth Ryan told police that he didn't remember anything that happened after he inhaled the spray but that "he had to have done something to the baby because he was the only one watching him," the prosecutor told the judge.
Kenneth Ryan is scheduled to be sentenced in April.
He was also convicted in May of possessing a firearm while being under the age of 21 - a crime for which Kenneth Ryan has not been sentenced, court records show.
Outside the courtroom, his parents expressed sadness over the death of their grandchild.
"What happened here is a tragedy. Just a tragedy for everyone," his mother, Ellen Ryan, said. "God rest Julian in peace."
jennifer.mcmenamin@balt sun.com
