8-month-old baby dies after father slaps her 'out of frustration'
An 8-month-old Massachusetts girl has reportedly died days after her father allegedly smacked her so hard that she stopped breathing multiple times after the incident. Daniel A Torres, 28, was arrested on July 27 for assault and battery on his daughter, Lily. The court documents further noted that he would be charged with reckless endangerment of a child and misleading a police officer. His bail was set to be $1 million at that time. Police were initially called to Baystate Nobel Hospital on July 25 to report the case of the eight-month-old who was not breathing. Lily was resuscitated at least six times by the doctors but after countless failed attempts, they decided to transfer her to Baystate Medical Center for further treatment.
As reported by Masslive.com, CPR had to be performed twice on Lily while she was being transported to another medical center. "Doctors informed police that is was unlikely that the infant would recover and there was almost no brain function at all. As of the time of this report, the infant was on life support as medical authorities stated she would not survive without it," Officer Richard Mazza said in the court records.
Medical staff also noted that the baby had significant bleeding in the brain, as well as, severe swelling of the brain. At the same time, doctors noticed that Lily had retinal hemorrhages and bruises on her face. The court document also noted that she had a large bruise on her right shin.
"There were three long red marks across the right side of the infant's forehead that are consistent with a handprint," Officer Richard noted in the statement. "It should be noted that the victim was struck with such force that several hours later marks consistent with a handprint were easily seen on the victim's face." When the police tried to investigate the situation, they questioned Daniel about how Lily was injured.
However, he stated that he had no idea that Lily was in such a condition or how she might have got that bruise. But he soon admitted that he accidentally struck the child while the two were playing together. "He then stated that he slapped the victim in a fit of frustration, he didn't mean to hurt her and wished he could take it back," court records said.
Daniel stated that he tried to comfort the child before he put her down to sleep. He called the ambulance several hours after the incident took place. Lily' mother was at work when the incident took place. According to the court documents, an ambulance was called for the child at about 2.30 pm
The medical examiner’s office is scheduled to perform an autopsy which will further help to determine the extent of his punishment. The results will determine whether prosecutors will file new charges against the Massachusetts father. If he is charged with murder, the right to bail will be automatically revoked.