Sheriff's deputies are at the scene of Wednesday's killing of a young girl. The office also responded to the house a year ago after a domestic incident involving the parents.
A sheriff's office report filed after a November confrontation between Cheryl Busch and her husband concluded that she followed a prior physical engagement that night by throwing a work boot at his head while he had been holding their then-infant child - causing them both to fall from a chair and leading to an initial pair of charges that also included suspected child abuse.
Busch, 39, has been charged with homicide for the suspected killing Wednesday of her 19-month-old daughter Donna Busch at their home in the 2300 block of Shore Road. She pleaded not guilty Friday and remains at San Benito County Jail.
In March, though, she pleaded guilty to battery against her husband and served nearly a month in county jail, while also being placed on three years of probation and getting ordered to attend a year of domestic violence classes.
The criminal report, requested by the Free Lance, includes somewhat conflicting statements from the couple and describes details of the incident to which deputies responded at about 7 p.m. Nov. 24. The report from sheriff's office deputies Brandon Mingus and Matthew Soto, meanwhile, recommended battery and child abuse charges against Busch - both misdemeanors - while the child abuse charge eventually was dropped.
"After interviewing both victim and suspect," notes Mingus' narrative, "it was found that the child was in the victim's arms at the time the suspect threw the boot at the victim."
The report includes a statement from Cheryl and John Busch and analysis by the deputies.
Deputy District Attorney Patrick Palacios did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment on the prior, while Cheryl Busch's defense attorney in that case, George A. Barton, declined to comment.
John Busch's statement included the following:
He told Mingus he had been in bed when Cheryl walked in and lay next to him. He asked if she needed help with the baby and then, it reads: "John advised that Cheryl hit him on the right side of his abdomen area. John reacted by 'swiping' his right arm behind his body toward Cheryl. John was not aware if he connected by hitting Cheryl."
According to the report, Busch then said he went out into the kitchen, took the baby out of the highchair and sat with the child in the living room, cradling and feeding her in his right arm with his back toward the kitchen.
At that point, the report reads: "John advised that he felt something hit him in the back of the head which caused him and the baby to fall forward to the ground. John advised that he realized he had been struck in the head by a work boot."
According to Busch, he then advised his wife to pick up the phone and call 911, which she did, then left the building. Busch stated in the report that he remained inside and had stiffness in his neck.
Cheryl Busch's statement included the following:
She had been putting her child in a baby chair and was not feeling well and thinking that she might "pass out," the report reads, and she then went into her bedroom where her husband was on the bed.
The report says Busch told her husband, "I guess I'll have to take care of her myself." Busch then reported to the deputy that she hit her husband on the right side in kidney area, demonstrating to Mingus the manner in which she hit him, but claiming she could not remember if she had used a closed or open hand for the blow.
According to the report: "Cheryl stated that John went out in the kitchen area and picked up the baby ... She went out in the kitchen area and Cheryl stated John hit her in the chest with a closed fist," at which point Cheryl claimed she fell on her back and passed out, then got up, called 911 and left the home.
Upon completion of the interview with Busch, Mingus noted in his report that she had claimed she was not feeling well and needed sugar. Emergency services responded and attended to Cheryl while Mingus entered the residence where he encountered John Busch "sitting at the kitchen table with his seven month old child," the report reads.
Jeff Gatlin Jeff Gatlin is a staff writer at The Hollister Free Lance. You can call him at (831) 637-5566 or send him an email.
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