A 41-year-old father in West Virginia is accused of causing significant damage to the internal organs of his 3-month-old daughter after allegedly venting his frustrations by squeezing the infant. Authorities took him into custody and charged him with child abuse by a parent, guardian, or custodian, as well as strangulation, suffocation, or asphyxiation.
The man’s 36-year-old ex-wife and current girlfriend was also arrested and charged with child neglect resulting in injury and failure to report. She is reportedly not the biological mother of the child.
Authorities responded to a call from a local hospital regarding an injured infant. Due to the severity of her condition, the child was transported to a larger hospital specializing in pediatric care. Medical examinations revealed internal damage to both lungs, trapped air in the thoracic cavity requiring surgery, and bruising along with a laceration on the esophagus that also required medical intervention. The severity of the injuries led to the child being placed in a medically induced coma.
The infant’s biological mother reportedly took her to the hospital immediately following a custody exchange with the father and his girlfriend. Law enforcement swiftly responded to the home and placed the father under arrest.
Initially, the man denied knowing how his daughter sustained the injuries, claiming he had asked his girlfriend about them the previous evening. However, under further questioning, he allegedly suggested he might have been responsible. He reportedly stated that he “squeezed” the baby in an attempt to relieve her of built-up feces.
Pressed further, he admitted that he had been frustrated from a long day at work and a verbal argument with his girlfriend. He insisted that he was not frustrated with the infant herself but that she was simply in front of him while he was venting his emotions.
The incident reportedly took place while the girlfriend was out of the house for about 40 minutes running an errand. When she returned, she noticed red marks on the infant’s stomach but did not seek medical attention or report the injuries.
As a school employee working as a special needs educator aid, she had a legal obligation to report any signs of child abuse. Authorities determined that her failure to act for approximately eight hours contributed to the prolonged impairment of the infant’s bodily organs.
Both individuals were taken into custody, with the father being held on a $100,000 bond and the girlfriend on a $55,000 cash-only bond.
