Jury to hear testimony in trial of man accused in death of foster son

(Vinita-AP) -- The trial of a Wyandotte man accused in the beating death of his five-year-old foster son is under way in Vinita.

Craig County prosecutors have charged the 34-year-old James Clayton Millhollin with first-degree murder and felony child abuse in the July 1998 death of Michael Wayne Buxton.

Authorities say Michael's foster mother sought medical care for him twice -- once in June and once July Fourth -- saying he'd fallen or otherwise hit his head on some object. He died in a Tulsa hospital July Fifth from massive head injuries.

Authorities allege that Millhollin had been beating Michael.

Michael was placed in the Millhollin home in February 1998 after his biological father was convicted in 1997 of beating him with an electrical cord. The father was sentenced to two years in prison.

Foster mother Shelly Millhollin is expected to be the prosecution's key witness. She's charged with two counts of felony child abuse and is free on ten-thousand dollars bail.