Baby hits ground after man tosses him, Missouri cops say. He’s in critical condition
.png "A Missouri man is accused of tossing a 9-month-old baby in the air and failing to catch him, causing him to fall on his head.")
A Missouri man is facing charges after officials said he abused a 9-month-old boy.
On Sept. 14, first responders were called to a home in Newtonia for reports of a 9-month-old who was not breathing and unconscious, according to a news release from the Newton County Sheriff’s Office.
The baby was taken to a hospital and listed in critical condition, officials said.
Nurses said they could not do a full-body X-ray on the baby because he was “too critical,” according to a probable cause statement. The baby had two small brain bleeds, bilateral pneumothorax and bruising to the lungs. Page 1 (his gender is referred to on page 2)
Hospital staff contacted police after determining the baby had noticeable injuries.
Detectives went to the home where the baby lived and spoke to the baby’s mother’s fiance, court records said. Page 1
Attorney information for the man was not available. McClatchy News is not identifying the suspect to protect the identity of the child.
He told officials he was in bed with the baby’s mother watching TV, when she got up to use the restroom. She put the baby in a “jumper,” and the baby began vomiting and screaming, the man said, according to court records. Page 1
He said he picked the baby up and began to toss him in the air to try to “comfort” him, court records said. However, on the second the toss, the baby fell to the ground, falling on his head, he told police. Page 1 & 2
After the baby fell, he started screaming. The man said he panicked and picked the baby up and “bear-hugged” him “a little hard” to get him to stop screaming, according to the probable cause statement. Page 2
Hospital staff said the baby had “abusive head trauma” and other injuries, officials said. Due to his condition being critical, it “may be several weeks before the extent of injuries is fully known.”
The man is charged with abuse or neglect of a child with serious physical injury.
