Ortonville man to stand trial in son's death

ORTONVILLE, Minn. (AP) — Trial has been set to begin Aug. 10 for a southwest Minnesota man charged in the death of his infant son.

Twenty-year-old Zachary Raffety, of Ortonville, is charged with second-degree murder in the October death of 3-month-old Avory Raffety, who died in a Sioux Falls, S.D., hospital.

Court documents say Zachary Raffety told police he might have hit the baby's head hard on the floor when he laid him down. Doctors who performed an autopsy determined the baby's death was caused by abusive head trauma.

Defense attorney John Holbrook earlier this month asked a judge to throw out the case, but the judge refused.

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