5-Month-Old Baby Chokes After Father Allegedly Stuffed Balled-Up Wipes Down Throat

A 5-month-old baby was in critical condition after his father allegedly stuffed a balled-up baby wipe down this throat and choked him. The incident took place at the child's home in Tarpon Springs, Florida.

According to local reports, Michael Hurley, 32, was taking care of the baby when the child's mother came home to find him choking. The mother panicked and rushed the baby outside the house. Neighbors heard her screaming and immediately came to help.

The mother reached into the child's throat using an index finger and removed the bloody wipe, a police statement said. The child was rushed to Mease Countryside hospital and later transferred to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa, where he is on life support.

The father was arrested on a charge of attempted murder and was being held without bond at Pinellas County Jail. Hurley told police he knew the situation "looked bad" and claimed the incident was a "freak accident." He said he was wiping around the boy’s mouth but “cannot remember” and “does not know what happened.”

However, investigators say the child was intentionally chocked.

The child's mother told police the baby already suffers from developmental delays due to complications during birth.

Last year, another incident of toddler choking drew national attention. A father was arrested after he admitted to disposing of his daughter's body after he says she choked on milk. Wesley Mathews, the adoptive father of Sherin Mathews, was charged after the 3-year-old Richardson girl was found dead.