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Uncle Gave 5 Accounts Of Tot's Fatal Injuries

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By NATALIE SHEPHERD and BAIRD HELGESON

nshepherd@WFLA.com bhelgeson@tampatrib.com

Published: March 17, 2009

BARTOW - Prosecutors say they'll pursue first-degree murder charges in the death of a 17-month-old boy from injuries his uncle initially described as a fall against a table.

Matthew Wyrosdick, 32, eventually provided five different accounts to explain how little Zachary Johnson was hurt, each more detailed than the one before.

The versions began Thursday, when his nephew suffered the injuries, and Wyrosdick blamed a fall from a plastic Fisher-Price picnic table. The next day, Zachary was pronounced dead at Tampa General Hospital, and Wyrosdick let police record him on video as he demonstrated what happened.

Saturday, he called a detective to elaborate, again on video. Police, sensing something missing, asked for a third video recording.

By this time, police said, Wyrosdick was describing how angry he was that the boy wouldn't sit. He said he shoved Zachary down, causing his head to strike the corner of a coffee table; picked him up and violently shook him back and forth; grabbed his arm to make him walk until he hit his head twice against a stair railing; dropped him three times; shook him again; lifted him a few feet and released him for a last drop.

Wyrosdick's final version of events came in a sworn, recorded statement after his arrest Sunday on charges of aggravated manslaughter.

A judge on Monday ordered Wyrosdick held on $100,000 bail. A prosecutor told the court the state will seek a first-degree murder indictment from a grand jury and warned that Wyrosdick might be a danger to himself.

"The defendant was quite emotional about this," Assistant State Attorney Cass Castillo said. "There was at least some thought ... that the defendant may have contemplated doing harm to himself."

On Monday, the Florida Department of Children & Families said that a preliminary check showed the agency never received a call from a neighbor who told a reporter she alerted authorities to child abuse at the Wyrosdick home.

The neighbor, Iris Scandrick, said Sunday she called the agency about a month ago about what was happening in the apartment next door.

"I sure called them; could have saved that little boy," Scandrick said.

Spokeswoman Carrie Hoeppner said the agency reviewed calls from that period and did not find any that match Scandrick's description.

The agency is still checking records. Scandrick could not be reached Monday.

In child abuse cases, DCF typically creates a report when a call comes in. At that point, a child protection investigator must visit the home within 24 hours. Usually, the investigator arrives sooner, Hoeppner said.

Scandrick pointed the finger at Wyrosdick in another crime recently, but not child abuse.

On March 5, police responded to a complaint that someone had been vandalizing a 1979 Mercury Cougar owned by Scandrick's live-in boyfriend, Steven Brown.

Scandrick told police she was up about 3 a.m. that day and saw a man she thought was Wyrosdick in the parking lot, scratching the side of the Mercury.

An apartment manager told police that Brown and Scandrick complained about every neighbor, according to a police report.

Police said they tried four times to interview Wyrosdick. No one was charged.

Wyrosdick and his wife, Mysti, had been caring for Zachary and his older brother, Austin, while their parents were behind bars. The parents, Earl and Clarissa Johnson, spent two months in the Hillsborough County Jail for grand theft auto, fraud and petty theft.

The Johnsons were released Sept. 12 and were about to regain custody of their children. Austin now is with them.

Mysti Wyrosdick and Clarissa Johnson are sisters.

Hoeppner said DCF will review records of visits to Wyrosdick's home to see whether anything should have alerted the agency to child endangerment. The documents could be released this week, she said.

It's unclear how the Wyrosdicks came to care for the children. Usually, caretakers come forward on their own. Other times, the agency reaches out to caretakers who might be suitable, Hoeppner said.

The Wyrosdicks would have had to pass a series of checks, Hoeppner said, including a review of criminal background, financial stability, a physical inspection of the home, and reference checks.

News Channel 8 reporter Natalie Shepherd can be reached at (813) 225-2703. Reporter Baird Helgeson can be reached at (813) 259-7668.

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