In a videotaped statement played in District Court, Gilbert Delestre tells a Woonsocket police detective he slapped 3-year-old Thomas Wright's head, and that the boy fell down the stairs.

12:31 PM EST on Thursday, December 16, 2004

BY MICHAEL CORKERY
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE -- In a videotaped statement, the man accused of murdering 3-year-old Thomas J. Wright told the police that he backhanded the boy, causing him to tumble down a staircase, "like he did a flip," and hit his head.

A short time later, Gilbert Delestre, 22, said he asked his girlfriend to check on the boy.

"Cuz . . . he doesn't look really good," Delestre told a Woonsocket police sergeant during an interview videotaped in the hours after the fatal beating.

Thomas died the next day from severe brain injuries and a skeletal fracture. Delestre and his girlfriend, Katherine Bunnell, 21, have been charged with murdering the boy.

Journal photo / Andrew Dickerman

Accused killer Katherine Bunnell sits in District Court at yesterday's bail hearing with lawyer Gerard H. Donley. She is the aunt of 3-year-old Thomas Wright, who died Oct. 31.

The couple appeared yesterday for the third consecutive day of a bail hearing in District Court, where prosecutors played the black-and-white video that made public for the first time Delestre's detailed account of what happened to Thomas in the early morning of Oct. 30.

The interview was conducted by Woonsocket police Sgt. Todd Brien, who played off a prior relationship with Delestre when he was a boy and persuaded him to give a statement that could prove pivotal in the case.

At issue is whether Delestre, Bunnell -- or both of them -- are responsible for killing Thomas. According to a baby sitter's testimony, Bunnell assaulted the boy that morning before Delestre said he knocked him down the stairs. Bunnell is Thomas' aunt.

A 17-year police veteran with a military haircut and soft-spoken manner, Brien said he knew Delestre years ago from a community basketball program in Woonsocket.

Delestre had refused to cooperate with other detectives that morning, but agreed to speak with Brien.

Brien said that, when he spoke to him through the bars of his cell at the police station, he reminded Delestre of their past.

"I told him I remember him as a young man jumping on my back," said Brien.

The sergeant said he told Delestre that he was disappointed in him. "I said only two people could help him: himself and God."

Delestre was taken to an interrogation room on the second floor. For a moment, Delestre sat alone in the room, with his head on a table. On the videotape, he can be heard sniffling.

It was 1:30 in the afternoon -- about 11 hours after the assault on Thomas, who was then being treated at Hasbro Children's Hospital. At that point, the Woonsocket police were told Thomas was in serious condition.

Brien entered the room and sat across from Delestre. "What's going to happen to me?" Delestre said.

Brien implored Delestre to tell the truth. "I've known you a long time," he said.

Delestre said that he was drunk when he returned to the apartment that morning, and he was angry about the mess in the living room. Delestre said he liked to keep the place clean.

He said he went upstairs and found Thomas awake with his diaper off. Delestre said he and Bunnell brought the boy downstairs to see the mess. He said Bunnell "gave him a spank" and yelled at him.

Brien pressed Delestre on whether he ever slapped or threw the boy -- something the baby sitter told the police.

"T.J. [Thomas] is not Superman," the sergeant said. "He's not gonna be flying through the air."

Delestre said he never threw the boy. "I swear on my kids and my dead mom right now. I did not throw him around." Again, the sergeant pleaded for Delestre to be honest.

"People have this fine line," said Brien. "Where with kids, it's very difficult, and we pray to God to give us the strength to take care of these kids, and not do anything crazy, and Lord knows they can push us to the brink of disaster, and obviously that happened tonight with you, but you gotta be honest with me."

Bunnell had left the apartment to take the 15-year-old baby sitter home, while Delestre stayed behind. That's when Delestre said he brought Thomas upstairs.

"I was gonna put him to bed . . . but I ended up slapping him in the head and he just fell backwards," Delestre said.

He said the boy fell "a little funny," tumbling backward down about 10 stairs. "I was trying to catch him, you know, but I was drunk," Delestre said.

Delestre said he picked up Thomas and brought him into bed. He made sure the boy said something to him because he appeared to have a concussion. Delestre said the boy uttered the word "yes."

When Bunnell returned home, Delestre told her to check on the boy. She emerged from the bedroom, carrying Thomas and screaming: What happened?

Delestre said Thomas was "dangling around," as Bunnell held him. At this point, Delestre's cousin, Jose, entered the house. He had been outside the house, vomiting.

He went upstairs and grabbed the boy from Bunnell. Delestre said that Jose put the boy on the floor and tried to perform CPR on him.

That's when Thomas vomited in Jose's mouth, Delestre said. Jose and Bunnell called 911.

Delestre said he never explained to Bunnell what happened. He told the police sergeant that he tried to blame the baby sitter. The girl, Kayla Roderick, has not been charged.

Delestre explained to the sergeant that he had never harmed Thomas before that night. He said he took care of Thomas, as if he was one of his own children. "Like every time we feed him, he'll take nine hours to eat so I'll just sit there and try to feed him," he said.

THE STATE'S Department of Children, Youth and Families had determined Bunnell and Delestre to be suitable guardians for Thomas and his two brothers. The three boys were in state custody, but had been living with the couple since January.

Bunnell has two daughters of her own. The couple were in the process of being licensed as foster parents. All five children were in the apartment on the morning of the beating.

Gerard H. Donley, Bunnell's lawyer, told the court yesterday that the videotaped statement is evidence that his client's actions did not cause the boy's death.

Delestre's lawyer, Robert B. Mann, pointed out during cross-examination that the interview was conducted after his client might not have slept or eaten in hours.

Assistant Attorney General Stacey Veroni, meanwhile, said that Delestre's statement tells only part of the story. The bail hearing is scheduled to continue tomorrow before District Court Judge Patricia D. Moore.

Near the end of the videotaped interview, Brien again reminded Delestre about their personal connection.

"I've known you, like I said, when you used to play basketball down the park," Brien said. "When you were just a little kid climbing on my shoulders, for crying out loud.

"I hate to see you in this position, but I know how things can go bad, especially after you've been drinking."

Delestre again asked the sergeant what was going to happen. Brien said they would bring him before a bail commissioner that evening and give him something to eat.

"And we're going to pray to God that everything works out with the baby," Brien said.