CHARLESTON, W.Va. - The trial of a Cross Lanes woman accused of fatally neglecting her 22-month-old son got off to a slow start Wednesday as pre-trial motions and jury selection ate up most of the day.

Elizabeth Dawn Thornton, 21, was indicted by a grand jury in September. She and the child's father, Christopher Washburn, 31, are accused of failing to seek medical attention for their son, Constantine Alexander Washburn, for three days after he sustained serious head injuries on May 26.

The child, known as Alex, died on May 31 at CAMC Women and Children's Hospital in Charleston after having spent two days in the pediatric intensive care unit.

On Wednesday, Kanawha Circuit Judge Tod Kaufman decided to give Thornton and Washburn separate trials. Washburn's trial is now set for April 21.

Because a prosecution witness was going to be unavailable after Wednesday, the proceedings pushed on well into Wednesday evening. Opening statements for both sides, which were expected to take up to an hour, were set to start at 7 p.m.

Thornton was arrested in June. Investigators with the Kanawha County Sheriff's Department said that the child's severe brain injuries would have required immediate medical treatment, but Thornton failed to take action until a friend called an ambulance three days later.

Washburn, who was not initially charged in the death of his son, was indicted in September.

The child's parents said he was injured by bumping his head on a table and hitting his chin on a toilet, according to a criminal complaint filed in Kanawha County Magistrate Court. Doctors who treated him told investigators that the severity of his injuries to his brain and the bruising around his neck did not match their stories.

If convicted, Thornton faces up to 15 years in prison.

Testimony in the state's case against Thornton is expected to continue this morning.

Reach Andrew Clevenger at acleven...@wvgazette.com">acleven...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1723.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - The trial of a Cross Lanes woman accused of fatally neglecting her 22-month-old son got off to a slow start Wednesday as pre-trial motions and jury selection ate up most of the day.

Elizabeth Dawn Thornton, 21, was indicted by a grand jury in September. She and the child's father, Christopher Washburn, 31, are accused of failing to seek medical attention for their son, Constantine Alexander Washburn, for three days after he sustained serious head injuries on May 26.

The child, known as Alex, died on May 31 at CAMC Women and Children's Hospital in Charleston after having spent two days in the pediatric intensive care unit.

On Wednesday, Kanawha Circuit Judge Tod Kaufman decided to give Thornton and Washburn separate trials. Washburn's trial is now set for April 21.

Because a prosecution witness was going to be unavailable after Wednesday, the proceedings pushed on well into Wednesday evening. Opening statements for both sides, which were expected to take up to an hour, were set to start at 7 p.m.

Thornton was arrested in June. Investigators with the Kanawha County Sheriff's Department said that the child's severe brain injuries would have required immediate medical treatment, but Thornton failed to take action until a friend called an ambulance three days later.

Washburn, who was not initially charged in the death of his son, was indicted in September.

The child's parents said he was injured by bumping his head on a table and hitting his chin on a toilet, according to a criminal complaint filed in Kanawha County Magistrate Court. Doctors who treated him told investigators that the severity of his injuries to his brain and the bruising around his neck did not match their stories.

If convicted, Thornton faces up to 15 years in prison.

Testimony in the state's case against Thornton is expected to continue this morning.

Reach Andrew Clevenger at acleven...@wvgazette.com">acleven...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1723.