Infant Murder Trial Continues in LG

The capital murder trial against Billy Polasek for the July 4, 2016 death of seven-month-old Logan Atkins continued last week in La Grange. Atkins’ mother and Polasek’s girlfriend at the time, Nicole Lambert, took the witness stand on Thursday.

Lambert spoke about how her relationship with Polasek developed after Atkins’ father went to prison. Lambert was living with her mother and grandmother in La Grange at the time. On the night before Atkins’ death, Lambert said she spent the evening at her friend Renee Hundley’s apartment in La Grange with Atkins and her older son.

Lambert testified that her mother and Hundley were helping her care for Atkins at the time because her arm was hurt. She said another child was walking with Logan at Hundley’s apartment and tripped. She said Atkins bumped his mouth and suffered a small cut. Lambert said she took Atkins to Polasek’s residence in Rutersville around 10:30 p.m. But first, she said she stopped at Bar G convenience store to buy some ice cream for Polasek.

Under cross-examination, Lambert said she left Atkins in the car at Bar G while she went inside. However, she said she could see the car the entire time she was inside the store.

She then drove to Rutersville where Polasek lived in a travel trailer on his family’s property. Lambert testified that she spent about 30 or 45 minutes at Polasek’s place while Polasek rocked Atkins to sleep. She said she went back to Hundley’s apartment because her other son was there. Lambert testified that she slept at Hundley’s apartment that night and woke up around 8 a.m. She went back to Polasek’s to pick up Atkins. She said she took a nap in Polasek’s trailer and woke up around 9:45 a.m. She said Polasek needed to take his mother to Giddings that morning and he offered to take Atkins along for a ride. She said she gave Atkins a bottle, changed his diaper and put him in a car seat. She testified that Atkins was in a happy mood. She also testified that Atkins was wearing a gray “onesie.”

Labert said she left Polasek’s trailer around 10:30 a.m. to pick up her other son from Hundley’s apartment and then went to her mother’s house.

Prosecutor Andrew Roundtree and Lambert went over a log of phone calls and text messages between Lambert and Polasek on the morning of July 4. At 8:40 a.m., Lambert called Polasek to let him know she was outside the trailer. At 10:36 a.m., Polasek called Lambert to ask where a baby bottle was. At 10:37 a.m. the two spoke on the phone about a car seat, she said. At 10:40 a.m., Lambert messaged Polasek to ask if he found the bottle. At 10:52 a.m. messaged back saying he found it.

Then at 11:05 a.m., Lambert said Polasek frantically called her.

“Billy called and sounded like he was freaking out,” she said. “He said Logan wasn’t breathing, that he hit his head or had drowned and he had to go to the hospital.”

She said Polasek told her that he was giving Atkins a bath when the child either fell down and hit his head or drowned in the water. Lambert said she speeded towards Rutersville in her mom’s car. Roundtree asked if she called 911.

“No, I didn’t know what was going on,” she said.

Lambert said she passed up his truck near Rocky Creek Road. She turned around and the two of them pulled into the parking lot of the former Fishes and Loaves restaurant on SH 159.

“I got to the truck and saw Logan in the car seat,” Lambert testified. “He was not breathing. His lips were blue. (Polasek) said we had to go to the hospital. I told him to call 911. He never called 911. I did.”

The prosecution then played the 911 call for the jury. In it, Lambert can be heard screaming, saying her baby wasn’t breathing and that they were driving to the hospital from Rutersville. The 911 operator stays on the phone with Lambert as she says an officer is pulling them over. Then the prosecution played a dash camera video from patrol car of DPS Trooper Robert Gulash, who pulled Lambert and Polasek over in the Texas One Stop parking lot. They stopped the video before Polasek gets out of his truck.

Lambert testified that Atkins was in Polasek’s arms when he got out. She said Polasek handed Atkins over to Gulash, who began performing CPR. Lambert said she knelt down beside her car to pray and Polasek came over to give her a hug. She testified that Logan was naked and that she did not recall him being wet from a bath. Lambert then testified about going to the hospital and seeing her son dead. Roundtree asked Lambert if she noticed any injuries.

“I don’t know, I wasn’t looking for that,” she said.

Lambert said she knew about two bruises from a previous injury that occured at Polasek’s trailer. She said the injuries happened when Polasek was watching Atkins about a week before. She said that Polasek told her that Atkins pulled a guitar and it fell on him, bruising his ear and nose. Lambert said Polasek initially told her that the accident happened when his brother was watching the child while he supposedly went to his mother’s house for clothes. After Atkins died, Lambert said Polasek confessed to him that the accident actually happened while he was watching the boy.

“Billy told me he lied and that he was watching Logan when it happened,” Lambert testified. “He said he lied because (his brother) said I wouldn’t let him watch Logan anymore if I knew what happened.”

“Is that true,” Roundtree asked Lambert.

“Yes,” she said.

Lambert said she continued to see Polasek after her son died.

“How did you feel about Billy at this time,” Roundtree asked Lambert.

“Confused, because I didn’t know what happened and I wanted to believe him,” she said.

Lambert then testified about her troubles with law enforcement after Atkins death. She spoke about drug addiction, several theft charges and an assault charge for attacking Atkins’ father. She ultimately went to state jail and court-ordered rehab. Lambert said she has since maintained sobriety.