Father Hits, Holds Baby Upside Down While Running To 'Resuscitate' Her; Infant Dies
An Arizona man whose 1-month-old daughter died after being left alone in a bathroom sink has been charged with murder. Court documents have revealed the infant died of a head injury after the man attempted to resuscitate her by hitting her head and running around while holding her upside down.
Shawn Douglas Conner, 26, of Phoenix, was arrested Monday on charges of first-degree murder and child abuse for his infant's death on July 8, reported AZ Family.
Conner initially told the police that on July 4, he left the infant unattended in the bathroom sink with the water running as he needed to check on his two other children, a 3-year-old boy and a 1-year-old girl. They were staying in the hotel room at that time while the kids' mother went to work. When he came back to the bathroom, he reportedly found the baby unresponsive in the sink.
However, an autopsy revealed the child's death was caused by blunt force trauma. There were also multiple injuries on her body that were not consistent with drowning. The medical examiners observed the child had injuries under her jawline, on her abdomen and on her ear.
In a subsequent interview, Conner admitted he tried to resuscitate the child based on what he saw in YouTube videos. After finding the infant unresponsive in the sink, he hit the child on the head, back and chest to revive her. He also grabbed the infant by her ankles and placed her upside down over his back while running around the room. He then tripped down on a concrete floor and fell on the top of the infant while he ran to the hotel manager's office for help.
Conner left the infant with the hotel staff for a brief moment while he brought his other children from the room. The emergency officers rushed the infant to a hospital where she was on life support until July 8, Law & Crime said in a report.
According to the court documents, the man "attempted a life-saving technique he observed on YouTube which involved holding the victim upside down over his shoulders."
Conner is currently held in Maricopa County Jail on a $500,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing on Nov. 4.