Investigators with the Porter County Sheriff’s Police are continuing to interview persons in connection with the death—ruled a homicide—of Chesterton area infant Nicholas B. Munden.

But Sheriff Dave Lain is asking both residents and the press to be patient and to let his detectives do their job.

While folks are understandably eager for information and want justice done, Lain said, “it’s difficult to pursue a criminal investigation on the front page of the newspaper.”

The 6-month-old Nicholas died on Monday at the University of Chicago Hospital (UCH), and following an autopsy conducted on Tuesday the Cook County, Ill., Medical Examiner ruled his death a homicide. Cause of death: “blunt head trauma” associated with “child abuse,” a Medical Examiner’s spokesman told the Chesterton Tribune.

Nicholas had been airlifted to UCH from Porter Valparaiso Hospital Campus on Friday, Sept. 19, for “treatment of an unknown medical condition,” after his Liberty Township babysitter found the boy lying unconscious on his belly, police said. The Medical Examiner’s spokesman said that Nicholas was later found to have sustained a subdural hematoma, or bleeding of the brain.

“We’re trying to slow things down as far as releases go,” Lain said today. “First of all, because the prosecutor asked us to. Second, because we need to interview certain people who may be less willing to talk to us if the media coverage becomes too obvious and accessible. Our investigation is making progress but it needs to move at its own pace.”

“We will eventually get the facts out,” Lain added.

Porter County Prosecuting Attorney Brian Gensel was not available today for comment.

Sources close to the investigation, however, have expressed their surprise to the Tribune that the Cook County Medical Examiner released the findings of Nicholas’ autopsy to the media before doing so to the PCSP, and noted that they first heard of the homicide ruling from reporters.

An obituary appeared in Wednesday’s edition of the Tribune.

Posted 10/3/2008