Man Allegedly Chokes, Hits Baby Against Door Frame To Stop The Crying

A 4-month-old baby boy in Florida is fighting for his life after suffering severe injuries from being abused, choked and struck against a door frame. The infant's parents were arrested and are facing charges in connection with the incident.

The abuse came to light after the baby's 19-year-old mother, Emma Belle Smithey, took her son to a Gainesville hospital Tuesday with severe injuries. Doctors found the child was suffering from bleeding in the brain, hemorrhaging to his left eye, bruises on different parts of the body, and had blood in his diaper, WCJB reported.

Officials said the baby had sustained the injuries days before his mother brought him to the hospital.

Smithey initially told doctors that she accidentally hit her son's head against a door frame while turning to enter the bathroom with the child. However, she later denied having said that when questioned by cops.

The mother claimed she saw the child's father, Timothy Jacob Smith, 22, carrying the baby and accidentally bumping his head on the door frame days before the infant was taken to the hospital, the Gainesville Sun reported.

When Smith spoke to cops, the father said their son was "abnormally fussy and wouldn't stop crying" on Dec. 30. Smith said he held the infant with his mouth pressed against his chest and tightly squeezed him around his neck. The father held the baby that way until his loud cries turned into a whimper.

According to the arrest report, Smith also said he squeezed his son hard enough to cause the bruises that appeared on his neck. He also admitted he may have used too much force while shaking the infant against his chest.

The same night, Smith found the baby crying uncontrollably and intentionally dropped the boy from an "abnormal height" into his bassinet.

The baby woke up "crying hysterically" the next morning, after which an "exhausted and frustrated" Smith picked him up and turned his body with such force that the child's head "slammed" into the bathroom door frame, the arrest report said.

The father said he was trying to get his baby to stop crying and admitted he wasn't thinking about his son's safety. He also claimed he did not cause the boy's injuries on purpose.

The child was alone in the father's care when the injuries occurred, Smith added.

The baby was reportedly crying, lethargic, throwing up and barely eating anything in the subsequent days. He was also sometimes found unresponsive and appeared to have small seizure-like episodes, Smithey told cops.

It was only when the baby could not eat, had a temperate of 100.5 degrees and appeared to have multiple minute-long seizures that the mother finally decided to take him to the hospital. "It is currently unknown if the infant will survive his injuries," officials said.

Smith was charged with child neglect with great bodily harm, cruelty toward a child and aggravated child abuse while Smithey was charged with child neglect with great bodily harm.