An Arkansas man was jailed this week after admitting that he shook and hurled his 3-month-old child. David Allan Becker, 25, is charged with one count of domestic battery in the second degree resulting in physical injury, according to Craighead County Sheriff’s Office records.
The young boy is still alive, but the violence he endured caused his brain and eyes to hemorrhage, according to law enforcement. The child’s father allegedly changed his statement multiple times during the investigation to explain the infant’s serious trauma.
The Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock notified an Arkansas State Police officer on September 23 about a newborn with brain damage, according to an affidavit of probable cause obtained by Jonesboro-based ABC, NBC, and The CW Plus station KAIT.
When initially questioned by state police, Becker allegedly said he was tossing his infant son into the air and catching him when the boy suffered a seizure, prompting him to phone 911.
But the child’s injuries seemed a little too severe for that explanation. The court record describes the injuries as bilateral brain hematomas, extensive retinal hemorrhage behind the eyes, and spinal cord injury.
“I asked the doctor what would cause the injuries, and she told me that rapid acceleration of the head and violent shaking or slamming of the baby would cause the injuries to his brain and spinal cord,” a state police investigator stated in the affidavit.
On September 24, while being questioned at home, Becker allegedly provided police with a revised account of events. “[Becker] told me that he was frustrated and the baby had spit up, and he threw the baby onto the bed, landing on his stomach, with his head hitting the bed,” according to the statement of belief.
However, the investigator was not pleased, explaining to the defendant that the injuries had been inflicted by someone shaking the baby. Police claim Becker’s account changed yet again.
The defendant was arrested later that day and held at the Craighead County Detention Center. He was freed on a $100,000 cash/surety bail on September 25, according to jail records.
Craighead County District Court Judge Tommy Fowler granted a no-contact order in the case during a hearing on Wednesday to keep the guy away from the child, according to a KAIT courtroom report. The court also found probable cause to continue the battery accusation against the defendant.
Becker is next scheduled to appear in court on November 14.
Law&Crime reached out to the Arkansas State Police for more information on this case. A spokesman advised filing an open records request under the state’s Freedom of Information Act. The spokesman further stated that a successful outcome was improbable since “Arkansas law requires you to reside in Arkansas to receive documents using FOIA.”.
“He told me that he had the child in his arms and was shaking it back and forth for around two minutes while he fixed him a bottle,” according to Law&crime. “I asked him if the baby’s head was whipping back and forth, and he told me, ‘A little.'”