LAKE ELIZA -- Police say an 18-month-old with a love of shiny red fire trucks died at the hands of the firefighter entrusted with his care.
Christopher Naas, a Union Township volunteer firefighter who was soon to be the boy's stepfather, is charged with shaking and tossing Peyton McCormack to death Friday. An autopsy performed Sunday on the boy's body showed he died of blunt force trauma to the head. Porter County police also believe Naas previously had abused the boy.
Police arrested Naas, 28, of 46 S. Del Mar Court in Lake Eliza, on Monday and charged him with Class A felony battery, which is punishable by up to 50 years in prison. He's been put on administrative leave from the Fire Department until the conclusion of the case.
Peyton's death and Naas' arrest surprised those who knew them.
"We're trying to get it all straightened out, all of what happened," said Stephen Rauch, the toddler's grandfather.
Rauch said Naas seemed to be a nice guy and planned to marry Mindy Rauch and care for Peyton and his 8-year-old sister, Paige. The couple wanted to have Peyton ride his pedal-powered fire truck in their April 3 wedding.
Instead, a Union Volunteer Fire Department truck likely will be in the boy's funeral procession, Fire Chief Mike Bucy said.
He said the whole situation is tough because Naas had been a respected lieutenant, a four-year veteran of the Fire Department, and because the firefighters often saw Peyton spending time at the fire station.
"He was down there all the time, running around," Bucy said. "There was never any indication of a problem."
Porter County police Cmdr. Mike Jenkins said Naas watched Peyton on Friday morning, as he often did when the boy's mother worked as a teacher's aide in Crown Point. Naas became frustrated and admitted he disciplined the child too hard, Jenkins said.
The child suffered shaken baby syndrome and blunt force trauma to the head, Jenkins said. The boy's head hit a table while being shaken, and he suffered three fractures to his skull, according to Chief Deputy Prosecutor Brian Gensel.
Jenkins said Naas shook the child about 9:15 a.m. Friday, but despite being trained as an emergency medical technician, didn't call for an ambulance for another hour. Medics, responding to a call of a child not breathing, took Peyton to Porter Memorial Hospital. He was transferred to University of Chicago Hospital, but died shortly before 4 p.m. Friday.
"He (Naas) admitted to shaking the baby. He admitted to disciplining the baby in a manner that caused the injuries," Jenkins said.
Jenkins said there are parenting classes and other programs to help people in Naas' position. Violence is never the answer, he said.
"If you get mad, just walk away from the situation and cool down. This is an 18-month-old who isn't sure what is right and wrong," Jenkins said. "There are other ways of dealing with this than picking up the kid and shaking him. ... That baby should not be dead."
Naas, who had no prior arrests, expressed some remorse, Jenkins said. There is no indication the child's 26-year-old mother knew of the abuse.
"She's distraught, upset," he said.
Peyton's grandfather said the family is mourning the loss of what could have been. Peyton had just started to walk, eat a variety of foods and enjoy the things boys enjoy. Just recently, Peyton went to the Museum of Science and Industry and to a monster truck show in Chicago.
"He was sitting on (Naas') lap, hooting and hollering for the trucks," Rauch said.
Further charges against Naas could be filed later, Gensel said. Naas, ordered held on $100,000 bond, will have an initial hearing with Porter Superior Court Judge Roger Bradford on Wednesday morning via video conference.
Naas, an employee of McDaniel Fire Systems in Valparaiso who volunteered as a firefighter when not working, will not be allowed back on the department if convicted of a felony, said Tim Beach, Union Township deputy fire chief.
Dykes Funeral Home in Valparaiso is handling Peyton's funeral arrangements.
