White Bear Lake father charged with murder for death of infant son
WHITE BEAR LAKE, Minn. — A White Bear Lake father is accused of killing his 3-month-old baby while under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
The 39-year-old man was charged with one count of second-degree murder, according to a complaint filed in Ramsey County on Monday.
The child had been injured in late January and died in March. In June, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office released an autopsy report that listed the baby's cause of death as "complications of bilateral subdural hemorrhages."
Child abuse specialists say the infant's injuries were "highly consistent" with abusive head trauma. Medical providers told investigators that his medical issues did not occur naturally and were "likely the result of outside force or trauma."
Charges say the father told the attending physician at the hospital treating his son that he may have "dropped or done something" to his child and that he had not been "in his right state of mind" the night before.
The baby's mother told police she had been concerned that her son's father had been drinking too much, the complaint states.
The father allegedly admitted to police that he drank more than he typically did the morning his child son was injured. He added that he had also smoked marijuana.
The mother told investigators she confronted the father about their son's injuries and he admitted "he may have done something to their son but he did not remember because he had been drinking," charges say.
Later talking to investigators, the man allegedly expressed worry that he may have dropped or sat on his child and had anxiety that he may have harmed his child because of his memory lapse.
