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Five months after he was accused of beating his four-year-old son to death, Robert Babcock remains in the Donley County Jail.

A rumor surfaced last week that Babcock was being released, but District Attorney Luke Inman tells the Enterprise that there has been no change in the defendant’s “status.”
“We are in the final stages of investigation and are preparing for a possible grand jury presentation,” Inman told the Enterprise Monday.

Inman did say that a motion was filed on January 24 regarding the mental competency of the defendant and that District Judge Stuart Messer at that time ordered an evaluation of mental competency. The Donley County Clerk’s office confirmed that and said no other motions were on file and also said there was nothing on file indicating whether the examination had taken place.

Inman said the grand jury is next scheduled to meet in Donley County on June 29, but he could not say that Babcock’s case would be presented at that time.

Babcock is accused of causing the death of Chance Mark Jones, who died on January 5. According to previous reports, preliminary results of an autopsy conducted the next day revealed that boy died from blunt force trauma to the head and that he also suffered internal injuries from trauma to the torso.

The defendant was formally charged with Capital Murder and Domestic Violence, and bond was set at $1.1 million.

No one was injured when a fire broke out near a local daycare this week, but officials say the incident highlights the need for extreme caution with dangerously dry conditions persisting.

The fire was first spotted shortly after noon on Monday burning a fence separating the residence of Michael Shadle and Paula’s Daycare in the 300 block of South Carhart Street.

Daycare owner Paula Blackburn said Paige Drackley noticed the fire while she was driving by and came knocking on her door.

“I had brought the kids inside about 10:30, we ate lunch at 11, and were getting ready for nap time,” Blackburn said. “We never smelled anything. We evacuated in less than a minute, and I grabbed my emergency binder.”

The children were taken to the Church of Christ across the street and parents were then notified, Blackburn said.

First Assistant Chief Jeremy Powell of the Clarendon Volunteer Fire Department termed Monday’s fire as “suspicious.” He said four trucks responded, and the department had the blaze out in about 15 minutes.

Officials said it appeared the fire started on Shadle’s side of the fence, but Fire Marshal Kelly Hill said the cause was still undetermined.

In addition to damaging the wooden fence, several toys on the daycare’s playground were damaged, and the fire also threatened Shadle’s garage at one point, Powell said.
“It is just super dangerous right now even in town because of dry grass, brush, etc.,” Powell said. “We could get a structure on fire real easy right now.”

Powell said recent fires are getting harder to put out because everything is so dry it is taking more water to put a fire out. He said the high temperatures are also placing stress on firemen when they wear their protective gear.

Powell said everyone needs to be very careful, even when barbecuing.

“You need to be right there with it and keep a water hose available,” Powell said.
In the case of Monday’s fire, quick action by good Samaritans helped save the day – particularly Audie Watson, who reportedly grabbed a garden hose and started putting water on the fire before firefighters arrived.

In less than an hour, the daycare center was determined to be safe, and the children returned from the church.