STAR JOURNAL REPORT

The former Rhinelander area man charged with two felonies in connection with the death of his 20-month old son entered not guilty pleas in Oneida County Court Tuesday.

Trung T. Tran, 41, appeared for a motion hearing with his attorney Jason Luczak, where Circuit Court Judge Michael H. Bloom denied Luczak’s motions to dismiss charges against his client, which include child-abuse-fail to prevent bodily harm and neglecting a child-consequence is death.

Tran’s wife, Ellen Tran, was charged in April 2017 with first-degree reckless homicide in the death of Trung Tran’s son and her stepson, Avery Edwards. The circumstances surrounding Ellen Tran being charged for the alleged crime relate to a 911 call the county’s dispatch center received at 6:24 p.m. April 14, 2017, when it was reported a child had trouble breathing at a residence in the town of Newbold.

The child, Avery Edwards, was transported to St. Mary’s Hospital in Rhinelander, where he was then flown out to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Marshfield and passed away a short time later. Ellen Tran had stated the boy fell in the shower, and she could not remember how the fall happened.

According to a sheriff’s department report put together by captain Terri Hook, the preliminary findings of an autopsy performed Monday by Dr. Doug Kelley of the Fond du Lac County Medical Examiner’s Office were the boy died of blunt force trauma to the head.

Trung Tran, who had been working as a physician in Rhinelander, was arrested in September 2017. According to a sheriff’s office report put together by detective sergeant Chad Wanta, data located on electronic devices had been obtained as part of an investigation that allegedly showed “Trung was aware of Ellen’s hostility toward (Avery Edwards) and that Ellen had issues with drugs, alcohol and depression; however, Trung allowed Ellen to care for (the boy).”

The report also states it appeared Trung Tran was only trying to obtain custody of Avery Edwards from the boy’s biological mother, Lori E. Edwards, who lives in Virginia, to avoid paying child support.

Ellen Tran’s jury trial is scheduled for October. Trung Tran will be in court next Nov. 13 for a pre-trial conference. Both Trans are free on bail.

For more on the Ellen Tran court case, click here.

For more on the Trung Tran court case, click here, or search the “Law & Order” section of StarJournalNow.com.