Judge finds father guilty in children's deaths

DETROIT (AP) -- A judge told a 27-year-old Detroit-area man that the bathtub drowning of his 13-month-old son may have been an accident, but his 15-month-old daughter was intentionally slain to cover up the boy's death. Steven Nicholson was found guilty Tuesday by Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Vera Massey Jones of first-degree premeditated murder and first-degree child abuse in the death of Ella Stafford and second-degree murder in the death of Johnathan Sanderlin. Johnathan's face may have been held underwater to keep the boy from crying, Massey Jones said. "Based on the evidence, I find that one of the children was placed face-down in the water and drowned," she said in delivering her verdict. "The second child, in order to establish an alibi or an accidental defense, was placed face-down in the water and drowned." Nicholson had said the children turned on the water and got into the tub in his Allen Park apartment, southwest of Detroit, while he was asleep. Their bodies were found Oct. 19 after he made a middle-of-the-night call to 911. But two medical examiners said their bodies were scalded after being drowned. One medical examiner has said it was possible but unlikely that the children could have turned on the water and entered the bathtub. A prosecutor called their deaths "torture." The children had different mothers. Nicholson had custody of Johnathan and took care of Ella. Neighbors had testified during the bench trial that Johnathan had suffered some physical abuse in the past. Nicholson was scheduled to be sentenced May 13. Published: Thu, Apr 28, 2011