Pro skateboarder Neil Heddings carved out a reputation based almost as much on the pentagram tattoo on his chest and his rebellious lifestyle as his mastery of backyard pools and plywood half-pipes.
He named his youngest son Budweiser, sported a shaved head and traveled the globe performing for young crowds and earning thousands of dollars a year from skateboard companies to help hawk their newest boards and gear.
That image served him well in West Coast skating circles. Heddings says it worked against him the morning of Nov. 23, 2002, when a San Jacinto police officer walked into a bedroom and found the skater with the lifeless body of his 2-year-old son, Marcus, cradled in his arms.
Three months later, Heddings, 30, and his 25-year-old girlfriend, Christine "Pinky" Rams, were charged with beating the boy to death. They are scheduled to stand trial on first-degree murder charges Feb. 1 in Riverside County.
Heddings blames the boy's death on an undiagnosed medical condition or neglect by Marcus' mother in San Diego. An autopsy determined that Marcus sustained nearly a dozen sharp blows to the head, probably with a fist. The injuries were at most 2 days old, and Heddings and Rams were the only adults with Marcus during that time, prosecutors allege.
Yet Heddings' claims of innocence have drawn support not only from many fellow skateboarders but also from usually cautious corporate America. The Vans skateboard shoe company contributed $1,000 to Heddings' defense fund, and a former subsidiary of Nike held a fundraiser for him at a Portland, Ore., skate park.
"In no way are we trying to pass judgment on this case or get in the police's way, but the skateboarding community is in his corner," said Chris Strain, vice president of marketing for Vans. "The guy needs help."
For most corporations, supporting an accused child murderer would be unthinkable. But skateboard companies are different. They know that the subculture they market to revels in its fringe, anarchist reputation, said David Carter, a sports business author and instructor at USC's Marshall School of Business.
"Vans and the others understand the role [Heddings] plays in their critical target market," Carter said.
