A defense attorney spent hours Thursday picking apart the testimony of a mother who says her five-year-old son was tied up, confined to a calf hutch and a cluttered storage room, and left waiting hours for medical help before he died. Heather Peterson, who is herself charged in the case and testifying under a cooperation agreement with the state, admitted under cross-examination that her account has shifted since she first spoke with investigators following Felix Reyna’s death in June 2025.
Peterson is testifying for the state against Timothy Erks, who faces five felony counts, including child abuse resulting in death, in connection with Reyna’s death, according to KOLN. Defense attorney Brooklyn Terrell questioned changes between Peterson’s trial testimony and what she had previously told investigators and the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, the station reports. Both Erks and Peterson have pleaded not guilty to all charges, per the Beatrice Daily Sun.
Calf Hutch, Garage Floor and a Storage Room
Peterson testified that Reyna was moved to a calf hutch outside their home, and that the hutch was sometimes blocked with wood to keep him from escaping, the station’s report states. She also said Reyna was later moved into what she called the storage room, and courtroom exhibits showed that space piled with boxes, trash and furniture, with a small central area and a blanket she said served as his bed.
Peterson said Reyna was earlier moved to the garage because he repeatedly had accidents, which she testified angered Erks, and that he slept on the garage floor with no bedding or furniture brought in for him. She also testified that Erks tied up and violently spanked both Reyna and her one-year-old daughter, and that he spanked her son with a belt and a piece of wood, according to the same account.
Photos Shown to the Jury
Peterson described photos pulled from Erks’ security camera that she said showed Felix being abused, and testified she saw his hands above his head in some of the images. The jury and a reporter from the station saw photos showing Reyna’s hands bound above his head with what appeared to be wooden rods and tape, and Peterson identified the restraints shown as canes.
Dr. Emily Killough, a board-certified child abuse pediatrician at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, explained Reyna’s CT scans to the jury, per the station’s report.
Delay in Getting Medical Care
Peterson testified that she and Erks waited hours to take Reyna for medical care after he passed out and became unresponsive, and said Erks prevented her from using the vehicle during that time. She had initially told Kansas City police that the decision to wait before taking Reyna to the hospital was her own idea, because she hoped he would improve, the station’s report notes.
Prosecutor Mary Marcum asked Peterson during trial why she had not told DHHS that her son had been tied up. Peterson told the court she had previously informed DHHS she had never seen her son tied up, but said on the stand that she forgot to mention it because there were a lot of emotions at the time. She told jurors she had not been forthcoming in her initial interviews because she feared it would look bad and believed she was not a good mother, and said she had been alone in Kansas City and looking for someone to talk to.
Phone Records and a Dating App
Peterson also acknowledged deleting search history and Snapchat messages from her phone. She testified that she downloaded a dating app while she was at the hospital with her son, and sent at least one photo of herself to someone she had met, which she said occurred the day after Reyna was declared brain-dead.
Peterson said she met Erks on Snapchat and moved from Sioux City, Iowa, to live with him in December 2024. She has two children. Under her cooperation agreement with the state, Peterson avoids a life sentence, while Erks faces life in prison if convicted, according to the station’s report.
Charges Amended, Trial Set to Continue
The prosecution amended its charges against both Erks and Peterson during earlier hearings in Gage County District Court, the Beatrice Daily Sun reported, and special prosecutors from the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office were to be part of the prosecution teams, according to the Lincoln Journal Star. A judge separately overruled a plea in abatement from Erks on a witness-tampering charge connected to Reyna’s death, the Beatrice Daily Sun reported.
Earlier reporting from KSNB Local 4 described search-warrant allegations that Reyna had been left overnight in a cow lick tub, and that security-camera images allegedly showed his hands tied above his head to wooden sticks taped around his stomach. Erks’ bond had been set at 10% of $1 million before a judge revoked it and bound the case over to district court, according to the Lincoln Journal Star.
The trial is scheduled to continue into next week, per KOLN’s report.
