Blackman Township man accused of shaking baby arrested at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital
A Blackman Township man was arrested Thursday at the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital after police say medical staff determined his 3-month-old son died of injuries consistent with shaken baby syndrome.
The 27-year-old man is charged with felony murder, second-degree murder and first-degree child abuse, said Jon Johnston, the township's deputy director of public safety.
The father's name will be released after he is arraigned today at 12th District Court in Jackson County, Johnston said.
The baby died at 5 p.m. Thursday after being flown to C.S. Mott Children's Hospital from Allegiance Health in Jackson, police said. An autopsy is scheduled for today.
According to Johnston, officers responded to a report by the baby's parents at 12:50 a.m. Thursday that he was in his crib at his Pheasant Run home and not breathing, police said. The arrest came after interviews were conducted with the man, other family members and medical personnel who tended to the baby, Johnston said.
University of Michigan police officers assisted in the arrest, a university police incident log said.
Lee Higgins covers crime and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached by phone at (734) 623-2527 and e-mail at leehiggins@annarbor.com.
Comments
Veracity
Sat, Aug 21, 2010 : 3:22 p.m.
I do believe that the shaken-baby syndrome requires that the baby NOT be listless and unresponsive prior to being shaken. In fact a baby is shaken most commonly because of the child annoying crying rather than being unresponsive. It is disingenuous to believe that vaccines cause intracranial hemorrhages. Those familiar with the physiology of immunization know of no evidence that vaccination adversely effects hemocoagulation or the status of vascular endothelium. Impugning the small amount of aluminum injected with vaccination is unjustified for the same reasoning. Guilt because of a temporal association between vaccination and intracranial bleeding is as vacuous as making a similar claim about a recent visit to the pediatrician.
llspier
Fri, Aug 20, 2010 : 10:14 p.m.
Before we decide this parent is guilty of murder, please read up on recent research that shows than most 'shaken-baby syndrome' may actually be vaccine-induced encephalitis. Reason Magazine did an article on this not long ago. Researchers said that simply shaking a baby without hitting its head against a hard surface simply couldn't do the kind of damage they were seeing...equivalent to dropping the baby from a 2nd or 3rd story window! And parents often shake the baby to try to revive the unresponsive child-then admit that, yes, they did shake the baby. Some courts in Great Britain had forbidden experts from presenting this in evidence - there are a lot of special interest groups who want to continue to believe the parent abused the baby. Have we done some of these grieving parents a serious dis-service? There are plenty of parents in prison right now for murdering a child they actually may have never abused. The whole shaken-baby syndrome needs a closer look.
JuliaAnnArb
Fri, Aug 20, 2010 : 9:43 p.m.
This is so tragic. Caring for a newborn can be overwhelming. If you are nearing the end of your rope, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE put the baby down somewhere safe and go outside, take a shower, cry for a few minutes, whatever you need to do to go back and deal with the baby calmly. And if you know someone with a newborn, maybe take a little time this weekend to offer a hand: bring over a meal, watch the baby for an hour, just call and chat.
ronaldduck
Fri, Aug 20, 2010 : 8:35 p.m.
He's being arraigned in Jackson County because the Pheasant Run that he lived in is in Blackman Twp in Jackson County on the north side of the city of Jackson.
Matt Cooper1
Fri, Aug 20, 2010 : 2:46 p.m.
If the baby lived in Pheasant Run and died at Mott, why is the father/suspect being arraigned in Jackson county?
scooter dog
Fri, Aug 20, 2010 : 2:29 p.m.
Therapy? I'd give him some therapy. He'll get his due in prison Child abusers have a special place in convicts hearts.
Silly Sally
Fri, Aug 20, 2010 : 2 p.m.
What a shame that this father didn't know about how easy it is harm a baby. Even more unfortunate for this baby who never had a chance in life. If you cannot stand a baby's crying any longer. Place the baby in a room, close the door, and go to another room or outside. If the baby is crying for a reason, get someone else to solve it. But please, never shake a baby or small child.
obviouscomment
Fri, Aug 20, 2010 : 1:55 p.m.
correction: I don't condone child abuse
obviouscomment
Fri, Aug 20, 2010 : 1:53 p.m.
I feel really bad for this family and the man accused. I don't know the situation and I don't child abuse but with shaken baby syndrome, most of the time it is not done out of hate. Usually people are very stressed and anxious and really intend no harm to the baby. Also, a lot of people are ill-equipped to handle a newborn on their own if they have no previous experience. I'm sure this man is very distressed over what has happened. I hope he and the family can get therapy to help them through this.