Father Shook 5-Week-Old Baby So Hard He Had Seizures, Almost Suffocated Baby to Death

State   |   Sarah Zagorski   |   Mar 5, 2015   |   2:02PM   |   Albuquerque, NM

In New Mexico, a 5-week-old baby is fighting for his life after his teen father shook him so violently that he started having seizures. On March 2nd, the baby was taken to Christus St. Vincent Hospital and CT scans showed that the child had signs of shaken baby syndrome.

According to KRQW 13 News, the father, Javier Chavez, told police that the baby wouldn’t stop crying as he was trying to force-feed him a bottle. The teen says he had taken the baby’s 16-year-old mom to school and was overwhelmed with his son’s crying.

Unbelievably, Chavez also admitted that he put his hand over his son’s mouth and nose for one-two minutes, and that’s when the baby started struggling to breathe. Juan Rios from the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office commented on the tragedy. He said, “I would imagine that these are cases that are some of the toughest for the detectives to deal with because you’re talking about an innocent 5-week-old newborn child.”

Currently, the baby is in critical condition at the hospital and is still having seizures. Chavez could face six-years in prison but if his baby doesn’t survive, the teen could be behind bars for the rest of his life.

As LifeNews previously reported, in 2014, two-year-old Thaiya Spruill-Smith was declared brain dead after being shaken violently by her stepfather, David Adams. He was charged with assault and police reports confirmed that Adam’s shook her until her head swiveled back and forth several times.

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According to the prosecutor’s summary of the police report, Thaiya’s body went limp and he continued shaking her until she went rigid. Thaiya was taken to Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center where doctors found she had bleeding and excess fluid in her brain, retinal hemorrhaging and abdominal bruises. Tragically, she died and now Adam’s is being charged with murder.

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The Mayo Clinic defines shaken baby syndrome (SBS) as a serious brain injury resulting from forcefully shaking an infant or toddler that can lead to permanent brain damage or even death. Every year, nearly 1,500 babies are injured or die from SBS and it’s considered the leading cause of death in abusive head trauma. Additionally, of those who survive 80% suffer from permanent disabilities such as severe brain damage, cerebral palsy, mental retardation, behavioral disorders and impaired motor and cognitive skills.

LifeNews Note: File photo.