A previously healthy 16-month-old boy being cared for by his Hawaii-based Marine Corps father is now inexplicably dead.
That Marine, an Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran, has post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury and now is missing as a deserter after his son died, officials said.
Cpl. Christopher Bahm, 24, is believed to be living homeless outside a Walmart in North Dakota, said his wife, Jerlee Bahm, who is coping with her son’s loss after her husband left home with the boy, Ernest Bahm, to stay elsewhere with him in Hawaii. The father then was given custody of him two months before his death.
Jerlee Bahm, who still is in Hawaii but had to apply for welfare, said she is seeking a congressional inquiry through U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye’s office "into the actions of Christopher’s command because they did not ensure the safety of Ernie."
"The senator’s office was contacted by Ms. Bahm and staff has requested more information about her case," said Inouye spokesman Peter Boylan.
Jerlee Bahm said the whole ordeal has been very hard for her and her older son, who is 8.
"He’s been having dreams about Ernie. He misses Ernie. It’s just rough," she said, her voice breaking.
Honolulu police investigated Ernie Bahm’s May 20 death after he was found unresponsive at an apartment in Kaneohe while being cared for by his father, according to reports. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service assisted.
HPD says the case can go no further because, among other reasons, the Honolulu Medical Examiner’s office cannot determine a cause of death.
Deputy Medical Examiner Dr. Masahiko Kobayashi wrote in the autopsy report that while Ernie Bahm had an upper respiratory infection, he had "no significant past medical history." There was no evidence of traumatic injury.
It was Kobayashi’s opinion that Ernie Bahm’s death could not be determined with medical certainty, and was labeled a "sudden unexplained death in childhood."
The manner and cause of death is "undetermined."
Sudden Unexpected Death in Childhood, a formal clinical term, is very rare, with a reported incidence of 1.2 deaths per 100,000 children, according to the SUDC Program, an educational effort in New Jersey that tracks the deaths, which occur in children over 12 months of age. Most SUDC deaths occur between 1 and 3 years of age.
By comparison, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, which afflicts children under 12 months, is 45 times more common, according to the program.
"Of course we did a thorough investigation, including a complete autopsy examination, and we also had discussion with law enforcement, HPD and, in this case, also with military investigators, too, and they don’t find any evidence of foul play, and we don’t find (that) also," said Kobayashi, who estimates he has done 1,000 autopsies.
But because the cause and manner of death are undetermined, the case is being kept open, he said.
"So if any pertinent information becomes available, I don’t hesitate to go back and revisit cause and manner of death," he said.
Kobayashi said in SUDC deaths, there can be possible causes that don’t show up in autopsies, such as arrhythmia that causes a heart stoppage.
Asphyxia as a result of suffocation might also not be found during an autopsy, Kobayashi said.
"In many cases we can tell (there’s been suffocation), but sometimes we can’t. That’s a fact," he said.
Jerlee Bahm admits she had a stormy relationship with her husband.
In court papers, Cpl. Bahm said his wife in 2010 "was threatening to abort our child and kill herself while I was in Afghanistan. I had just recently struck an IED (improvised explosive device) and was unable to respond to her. She (accused) me of having an affair."
Sarah Courageous, a Navy legal assistance attorney at Pearl Harbor, noted in a July 11 letter to Col. Nathan Nastase, commander of the 3rd Marine Regiment at Kaneohe Bay, that Cpl. Bahm was found guilty of assault at court-martial in October. The charges involved domestic violence by Bahm against his wife and stepson, she said.
Courageous said in an effort to undermine his wife’s credibility, Cpl. Bahm portrayed Jerlee Bahm as "crazy." She added that "in the course of my assistance to Mrs. Bahm during the past several months, I have found her to be consistently rational and calm in spite of the tragedy she has suffered."
Jerlee Bahm "is not prone to exaggeration or excess," Courageous said.
"Mrs. Bahm is seeking a full investigation into the death of her child, as she believes the death was precipitated by either foul play or by gross negligence on the part of Cpl. Bahm," Courageous said in the letter.
Jerlee Bahm said her husband deployed twice to Iraq and most recently in 2010 to Afghanistan.
He was assessed in November to have PTSD and TBI, according to a Marine Corps letter noting that he was being kicked out of the corps for misconduct.
His wife said he was taking Paxil, used for depression, and Zoloft, used for depression, panic and anxiety.
Cpl. Bahm left home with his son on March 24, and over the next three days, Jerlee Bahm called Honolulu police, military police and her husband’s command expressing her concerns for her son, she said.
On March 27, Cpl. Bahm obtained a temporary restraining order against his wife, claiming she had threatened him repeatedly, including pulling a knife on him, and she was removed from their apartment.
Her husband’s command knew he had mental issues, Jerlee Bahm said.
"The fact that Christopher had obtained temporary custody of Ernie through a TRO did not absolve the command from ensuring the safety of the child," she said. "I want to emphasize that while Christopher had Ernie in his custody, no one knew about his diagnoses other than his health provider and the command."
His last day at work was May 18, and two days later, their son was dead, Jerlee Bahm said.
A Castle Medical Center report states that Cpl. Bahm found his son facedown and unresponsive "in the comforter area" of a bed that also had stuffed animals, but he said he did not believe the comforter was "strangling or suffocating the child."
When the Marine Corps found out what happened, they reinstated him on active duty so they could investigate, Jerlee Bahm said. Three or four days later, with their son still in the morgue, he left Hawaii, she believes.
Marine Corps officials confirmed Cpl. Bahm is in deserter status.
Jerlee Bahm said she received a hospital bill indicating that her husband had been in a Louisiana emergency room and VA clinic in late May and early June.
More recently, he has called on a cellphone with a blocked number saying he was homeless living outside a Walmart in North Dakota, she said.
Bahm’s mother could not be reached for comment. Marine Corps Base Hawaii referred questions to the III Marine Expeditionary Force in Okinawa, Japan.
Asked if NCIS would investigate Ernie Bahm’s death, the command said in an email, "This has not been determined at this point, pending NCIS review of HPD investigation."
In response to a question about whether the Marine Corps is looking for Cpl. Bahm, the corps said, "He will be treated as a deserter until his administrative separation paperwork is finalized."
HPD spokeswoman Michelle Yu said, "I think from our side, we conducted a full investigation, and we rely on the medical examiner’s findings."
"No sign of foul play, no injuries," said Lt. David Kamai, who is in the HPD Criminal Investigation Division.
Courageous, the Navy legal assistance lawyer, expressed frustration with the turn of events.
"It just really does bother me that a child would be dead and that somehow nothing seems to be happening," she said.
