A New York man charged in connection with the death of his 1-month-old son admitted to police that he became frustrated when the baby was crying and threw him to the ground, court documents show.
Christian Rodriguez, 24, was arrested Tuesday after emergency responders found his son, Aiden, in serious condition Monday night in his Bronx apartment, WNBC-TV reported.
The infant later died, having suffered two skull fractures, two black eyes and trauma to the brain, according to WABC-TV.
The medical examiner ruled Aiden’s death a homicide by “extreme head trauma” on Wednesday.
When questioned by New York police, Rodriguez initially said Aiden accidentally fell and hit a wall, according to a criminal complaint. But when pressured, Rodriguez changed his story. He said the child was crying and “wouldn’t stop.”
"I got angry and threw Aiden to the ground face first," Rodriguez said, according to the criminal complaint. "I got frustrated and threw him to the ground."
Rodriguez has been charged with assault causing injury through risk of death, reckless assault of a child involving a brain injury, assault causing injury to a person less than 11 years old and assault causing injury to a person less than 7 years old, police said.
Prosecutors said in court Wednesday that in 2015, Rodriguez was accused of throwing his then-3-month-old daughter, WNBC-TV reported. The girl survived, but suffered two black eyes.
Rodriguez pleaded that charge down to harassment after agreeing to counseling and taking a parenting class, prosecutors said.
Another child who was in the home was taken into custody of the Administration for Children's Services.
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