Miami Man Charged With Killing Baby Girl
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – A man is behind bars, accused of killing his 4-month old baby girl.
The child's aunt told CBS4's Peter D'Oench the child would have turned 5 months old on Saturday.
Juan Antonio Gonzalez, 24, appeared before a judge in bond court Wednesday.
Gonzalez was wearing a Ferguson gown reserved for those on suicide watch. As the judge read what he allegedly did to his daughter Harlow, Gonzalez lowered his head.
According to his police report, Harlow's mother found the baby unresponsive on March 22nd and rushed her to the hospital where she was pronounced dead three days later.
An autopsy showed Harlow died as a result of various injuries including multiple skull fractures, severe brain injuries, fractured arm and leg, a dislocated elbow and multiple fracture ribs.
Rachel Pakinas told D'Oench that the couple lived behind her home in an efficiency apartment and that's where the mother discovered the child unresponsive, police said.
Pakinas told D'Oench, "I bawled my eyes out when I found he passed away. I feel really bad for Avis. She is a beautiful mother."
On Tuesday, the report states, Gonzalez confessed to intentionally causing harm to his baby girl. He was later taken into custody and charged with first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse with great bodily harm and torture.
CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald reported that the father told detectives he was upset because the child was fussy.
But the child's aunt said the child was never any trouble at all.
"I will never see my niece start school. I will never see her get married. I will never see her graduate from school," said Honey Rodriguez in tears.
She went on, "She was a perfect baby. She came a few months early but she was perfect. She was born healthy. She was a beautiful baby. It's terrible. It should never have happened" said Rodriguez.
She spoke about his past and what she hopes for his future.
"I hope to God they rip him to shreds," said Rodriguez. "You know he was arrested in December for abusing my sister. We never knew. He got out the end of January. This is the first time he's been back to the apartment since he was arrested and the first day he comes back is when he does this to the baby. The death of a child makes no sense."
And Rodriguez had harsh words for her sister who she had Baker Acted.
"And I'm shocked that my sister is not in jail. I'm shocked because she was present. It was an apartment smaller than my living room," Rodriguez explained.
Avis, Harlow's mom, remains in the hospital.
Records show Gonzalez has been arrested before for charges including battery on a pregnant woman, false imprisonment and strong-arm robbery. Gonzalez is being held without bond.
Gonzalez was in the news in a different light last October.
He spoke on camera with CBS4 after a fire was set at a halfway house where he was a facility caretaker.
At the time Gonzalez said, "I saw smoke coming through the roof and I started running across the house telling everybody to get out, get out, get out."
