Supporters demand justice for little Nicholas

Nicholas Miller suffered for four days with no medical help before he died with a broken back and a bleeding brain.

The 17-month-old, who was staying in rural southern Dakota County, had what a doctor called the worst spinal break he had ever seen. His ribs apparently broke after his rib cage was squeezed with such force that the fronts of the ribs were pressed to the backs.

A year after his shocking death, in which his stepfather, Tylar Hokanson, has been charged, sympathetic strangers who've read about the case are demanding justice for Nicholas and raising questions: Why didn't anybody stand up for the boy during months of abuse? And, should other relatives be held criminally liable for allowing the abuse to continue?

September Lukic, a Shoreview mother of five, never knew Nicholas, but she saw his obituary. Both she and Hokanson hailed from Maiden Rock, Wis. She started a Facebook page in Nicholas' memory, and more than 850 people have since joined.

Supporters also started an e-mail campaign, urging Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom to pursue the harshest penalty for Hokanson -- and to press charges against Nick's mother or other adults who did not report the abuse or get help.

Among the writers is Inesa Jenza of the Philadelphia area.

"This poor baby suffered great amount of pain, which probably none of us suffered in a lifetime," Jenza wrote.

Backstrom said he has received about 20 such e-mails. He has assured Nick's supporters that the investigation continues and that after Hokanson is tried, prosecutors will look into whether anyone else contributed to the death.

Said Lukic of starting the Facebook page: "I am sure Nicholas must have had someone who cared, but they never came forward to demand justice, so I took it upon myself."

The tot's grandfather, Charlie Ohmann of Greenvale Township, near Northfield, said he and other relatives had suspicions. Nicholas was taken to a doctor several weeks before he died, but Hokanson always had excuses for the injuries, including that Nick "fell out of bed," Ohmann said.

Nick's young stepsister had even told Nick's maternal grandmother, Debbie Ohmann, that her dad, Hokanson, was beating the boy.

"The way my daughter and Tylar were moving around," Charlie Ohmann said, "it's hard to know if there was any abuse going on, because they never stayed in one place too long."

Nick's mother, Melissa Hokanson, was out of state Friday and unavailable for comment. Charlie Ohmann said at first his daughter had believed Tylar's excuses, but no longer.

Indicted last fall

In October, a grand jury indicted Tylar Hokanson, 23, on three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of second-degree murder during acts of child abuse or neglect.

By his own admission, four days before Nick died, Hokanson shook his stepson 15 or 20 times, court papers say. He also admitted squeezing the boy.

Hokanson declined to be interviewed from the Dakota County jail. His attorneys insist he's innocent and suggest the abuse came at the hands of others.

Backstrom pointed to a similar case, in which Steven McBride was sentenced to life for the 2001 murder of his girlfriend's son, 3-year-old Dillon Blocker. Dillon's mother, Denise Patch of Lakeville, was subsequently sentenced to eight years in prison for neglect and child endangerment, including failure to bring the severely injured child in for emergency medical care.

"Although she struck no blow and committed no direct act of abuse herself, Denise Patch knew that her son had been the victim of repeated abuse and that his health and safety was at risk and yet she did nothing to protect him by reporting these injuries to proper authorities," Backstrom said at the time.

Afraid of his stepfather

Nick was about 8 months old when Melissa married Tylar, a farmhand.

His mother soon saw bruises on Nick. She also saw Tylar holding the crying baby around his rib cage, thumbs in front and fingers in back. By the time Nick was 1, he would cry and run to her when he saw Tylar, Melissa has testified.

Grandmother Debbie Ohmann and Tylar's mother testified about bruises on the boy. Debbie Ohmann said when Tylar entered a room, Nick would scream and cry, "Ow! Ow!"

The fatal injuries came the evening of June 19, 2009, when the Hokanson couple and kids were at the Ohmann home, according to court documents.

Melissa testified that she bathed Nick and didn't see bruises. She handed him to Tylar, who carried him upstairs. About 8 p.m., Melissa testified, she heard a "terror scream" from Nick. She found him looking scared, puzzled and upset. Tylar Hokanson was wide-eyed, saying that he just "touched" Nicholas.

The next morning, Nick was grumpy and saying "ow." When Tylar Hokanson came in the room, the boy cried. He didn't eat, drink or walk much and did not want to be touched.

The Hokansons drove to Tylar's mother's home in Maiden Rock, Wis., where Nick couldn't sleep. An odor came from him. He panted, drooled and lost muscle control, and then couldn't sit up.

Nick died on June 23, 2009, as Tylar Hokanson and another relative tried to revive him on a picnic table. An ambulance was on its way.

Prompt medical attention might have saved him, said Ramsey County forensic pathologist Butch Huston. He told grand jurors of finding many injuries during the autopsy, including broken ribs in varying stages of healing.

Authorities had Nick's infant brother and older stepsister checked over. Six-week-old Noah's posterior rib had been broken when he was 2 weeks old, a doctor reported.

Melissa Hokanson later testified that she had seen Tylar Hokanson holding their crying newborn, Noah, around the ribs, thumbs forward and fingers back, the same way he used to hold Nick.

Tylar Hokanson is scheduled for jury trial Nov. 1.

Joy Powell • 952-882-9017