DENVER—Prosecutors with the Denver District Attorney’s Office on Jan. 24 announced that Michael Ninomiya, 42, has been charged with the attempted murder of his young son in addition to other counts.
On Jan. 12, Ninomiya placed a 911 call for help along the Cherry Creek Trail. Firefighters located Ninomiya and his son near Boston Street and Cornell Avenue. The boy was transported to Children’s Hospital, where he remained in critical condition as of Jan. 26. Ninomiya was treated at Swedish Hospital for a laceration to his forehead. His clothing and iPhone were seized as evidence.
Ninomiya is charged with one count of attempted murder in the first degree, one count of attempted murder of a victim under the age of 12, and being in a position of trust, one count of attempted child abuse resulting in death, one count of child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury and with two counts of the sentencing enhancement charge of having committed a violent crime with serious bodily injury or death.
Ninomiya had an advisement hearing on Jan. 25 in Denver District Court. His public defender has indicated that his actions may have been a result of mental illness, but CBS Denver reports that he has given a full confession to trying to kill his son and staging it as an accident. The boy’s mother, who is married to Ninomiya, said that he had gone hiking with the boy previously and she wasn’t concerned about her son’s safety until she was unable to reach her husband by cellphone as dusk approached