{Elkins, West Virginia}...Twenty-three year-old Christopher Thomas Sheppard of Hepzibah will remain in jail while he awaits a February 21st trial on a first-degree murder charge in the death of his girlfriend's 14 month old son. Prosecutors say Sheppard was babysitting at a Jane Lew apartment and left the 14-month-old boy unattended during a bath. The child fell out of the sink and landed on his head. He died of brain trauma. Sheppard is accused of doing nothing until the mother returned home. Monday, Lewis County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Keadle denied Sheppard's request for a bond hearing. Sheppard originally was held in jail in lieu of a $50,000 bond, but Keadle revoked the bond at Sheppard's November 10th arraignment following his indictment by the Lewis County grand jury.
