Salem man sentenced to life in prison for murdering 6-month-old son

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – A man was sentenced to life in prison Monday for the second-degree murder of his 6-month-old son in Salem more than two years ago.

An investigation began when officers found Edward Casian’s son, Ryker, unresponsive in the early morning of April 12, 2022. Paramedics on the scene determined the infant’s time of death was 7:45 a.m. and a medical examiner determined his cause of death was “sudden unexplained infant death.”

However, officers noticed Ryker had “suspicious bruising” on his body and continued their investigation, leading them to re-question Casian in May 2023.

Officials said Casian admitted to multiple incidents of violence against Ryker, leading the medical examiner to change the child’s cause of death to asphyxia due to smothering and manner of death as homicide.

Casian pleaded no contest to second-degree murder on Dec. 9, 2024.

“A no contest plea has the same legal effect as a guilty plea and requires agreement that the state has sufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Edward Casian recklessly subjected Ryker, a child under 14, to “a pattern and practice of assault and torture,” according to the Marion County district attorney’s office.

A judge sentenced Casian to life in prison with the possibility of parole after a minimum 25 years.