Prosecutors said the 26-year-old father, Brantly, was sentenced to 25 years in prison after he killed his newborn baby son. During an interview with investigators, the dad reportedly said that he got mad, grabbed the child by his arms, shook him and threw him on the bed because his wife ‘just left him with the baby and he just snapped.’ Judge found the defendant guilty of abuse or neglect of a child resulting in death.
On December 15, 2020, the father called 911 and told the dispatcher that his newborn baby was not breathing. First responders rushed the child to the hospital. Medical staff discovered that the 2-month-old baby boy has swelling and hemorrhaging of the brain. The child reportedly suffered bruising along the forehead, jawline and chest. There were multiple signs of bruising at different stages of healing with no real explanation from the parents.
Doctors also told investigators that the boy had retinal hemorrhages in his right eye and multiple layers of damage which is consistent with abusive head trauma. The baby died two days later and the medical examiner said that the cause of death was Shaken Baby Syndrome. Initially, the father told investigators that he was doing CPR on the boy when he accidentally dropped him on the floor. He tried to explain away the facial injuries by saying that the boy bumped his head while in his bouncer and when he was trying to hold up his head.
Brantly’s wife told investigators that her husband dropped the baby on the bed while doing CPR. In a follow-up interview, the father told investigators what really happened. “I shook him before I put him in the bassinet. Arrest me, let’s go,” the father reportedly said. The 26-year-old dad also said that he got mad, grabbed the baby, shook him and threw him on the bed. During that time, Brantly’s wife was outside talking on the phone. “When she left, he was screaming and she was supposed to help me with him and he was fussing and being mad and she just left me with him and I just snapped I guess,” the father reportedly told investigators.
