Family reacts to not-guilty plea in toddler's death

An Evergreen man accused of killing a toddler pleaded not guilty Thursday, drawing emotional responses from courtroom observers.

Brandon Lee Walter Newberry, 21, was arraigned in Flathead District Court. He has been charged with deliberate homicide in the death of Forrest Groshelle, his girlfriend’s son.

Newberry’s was the first afternoon hearing before District Judge Ted O. Lympus. Muffled cries could be heard from the audience, many of whom arrived to support the family of the nearly 3-year-old Groshelle.

Among them was Jeremy Juntunen, Groshelle’s grandfather. He called Newberry’s plea “devastating.”

“To me, it’s just disgusting that he would make us keep going through this,” he said. “When you do something like that to a 2-year-old, you’re just going to have to stand up and be a man about it.”

Newberry made a 911 call on Feb. 17 about an unresponsive child. According to court documents, he could be heard screaming, “It’s my fault. It’s my fault” over the phone.

Groshelle was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency personnel. They noted bruising, scratching and abrasions on the child’s body. The official cause of death was peritonitis, an internal inflammation that can be associated with blunt force trauma. Newberry reportedly told deputies that he had been “rough-housing” with Groshelle the day before.

On Monday, Judge Lympus approved a gag order that bars attorneys in this case from making “extrajudicial comments” to the media. It also requests that law enforcement and employees of the Flathead County Attorney’s Office refrain from making comments over concern that they would heighten “public condemnation” of Newberry.

Some of that public condemnation took the form vandalism at the home where Newberry lived with Groshelle and the child’s mother. Vandals smashed the windows of an SUV and wrote “burn in hell Brandon” in spray paint. They also drilled door locks in an apparent attempt to break into the house.

Juntunen said that it has been a horrible period for the family. Groshelle’s mother, Takara Juntunen, has been staying with family away from the crime scene.

“Takara, my daughter, is just a complete mess,” he said. “If she’s awake, she’s crying.”

This isn’t the first time Newberry’s name has popped up in the Flathead County court system. According to court records, a former girlfriend filed a temporary protection order against Newberry in April 2014.

The woman, who was living with Newberry at the time, cited physical abuse as a reason for the protection order. In court documents, she recounted instances of choking and threats. The protection order lasted 20 days while the couple separated.

Newberry has been in the Flathead County Detention Center since his arrest last week.

He is being held on $250,000 bail. His next court appearance is an omnibus hearing March 4.