Air Force parents face courts-martial in the abuse of their 2 children

A private investigator has filed a federal claim against the government on behalf of a girl who was 9 days old when her active-duty Air Force parents took her to Tripler Army Medical Center with brain damage and skull, rib and leg fractures.

A state judge appointed Steve Lane last month as the next of friend or legal guardian to file the claim on behalf of Avaline Noel Beyer.

The girl’s parents, Staff Sgt. Natasha C. Beyer and Tech Sgt. Caleb W. Humphrey, have been charged with assaulting and endangering their daughter’s welfare, and with manslaughter in connection with the death of the girl’s older brother, Grayson Caleb Beyer, who was 5 weeks old when he died in 2016. Beyer’s and Humphrey’s dual courts-martial are scheduled for January.

The Air Force is keeping Beyer and Humphrey on active duty beyond their enlistments for their courts-martial. Humphrey’s enlistment ends on Sept. 26; Beyer’s, on Nov. 30.

Beyer is a ballistic missile analyst, and Humphrey is an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems supervisor. An Air Force spokeswoman said Beyer and Humphrey remain in their assigned units at Joint Base Pearl Harbor- Hickam while awaiting trial but are performing administrative duties that do not require access to sensitive information.

Humphrey is assigned to the 792nd Intelligence Support Squadron. Beyer is at U.S. Pacific Command, Joint Intelligence Operations Center.

Lane said Avaline Beyer is in foster care on the mainland. He filed the federal claim on July 26, one week before the deadline. He said he didn’t file it earlier because individuals responsible for reporting child abuse failed to follow the protocol the state Family Court had established for cases eligible for possible legal claims.

A state Family Court judge had previously appointed Lane to examine records maintained by the state and others to determine whether any claims could be filed on behalf of Peter “Peter Boy” Kema Jr. Kema’s siblings filed a lawsuit last year against their parents and the state Department of Health.

Avaline Beyer’s parents took her to Tripler on July 12, 2017, for seizures. According to a report from Air Force Office of Special Investigations Special Agent Roberto Flores, Humphrey told hospital officials that he tripped while holding his daughter in his arms. To avoid dropping the girl to the ground, Humphrey said he “overcompensated,” causing him to slam her face against his shoulder.

Flores said Tripler officials found Humphrey’s explanation inconsistent with the girl’s injuries and notified the state’s Child Welfare Services.

An Air Force doctor at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston determined that the girl’s injuries were the likely result of child abuse.

Lt. Col. Shelly Martin said the girl’s injuries could have occurred two days before she showed up at Tripler, as Humphrey reported, but that there is no accidental or medical explanation for them. She said the skull fracture and brain injuries are not consistent with the girl banging her head against her father’s chest or shoulder, and suggests they were the result of a forceful impact. Martin also found the rib and leg fractures highly suspicious of abuse.

The Air Force said it showed Beyer’s medical record to Honolulu medical consultant Dr. Kayal Natarajan, who concluded that the girl’s injuries most likely were the result of physical abuse.

Martin also reexamined the medical records of Grayson Beyer, who died May 20, 2016, two weeks after he was taken to Tripler.

The Tripler pathologist who performed Beyer’s autopsy determined that the boy died of natural causes. Martin suggested a more in-depth look into the boy’s medical records after finding that the autopsy listed suspicious rib fractures and brain damage.

Honolulu Chief Medical Examiner Christopher Happy reviewed the case and determined that Beyer died from blunt force injuries of the head. He reclassified the case a homicide.

Flores said he looked into Natasha Beyer’s and Humphrey’s finances and found that they received a $10,000 Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance payout six weeks after Grayson Beyer died.