Sheriff's office: Father arrested in death of 2-month-old Kitsap Co. boy



PORT ORCHARD, Wash. -- Authorities say a 32-year-old Keyport man has been arrested in connection with the death of his infant son.

The Kitsap County Sheriff's Office said Friday that the 2-month-old baby was hospitalized earlier this week with a skull fracture, rib fractures and other bruises and abrasions.

Investigators say that the injuries the child suffered were inconsistent with the account that his father provided about how he got them.

According to a release, the man told investigators that the baby was strapped into his car seat on the dining room table Tuesday afternoon when he hit a chair, causing the child to fall face-first onto the floor. The child's mother was working and not at home at the time of the incident, the sheriff's office said.

The child was hospitalized in Silverdale on Tuesday and was later airlifted to Tacoma. He was taken off of life support and pronounced dead Wednesday afternoon.

The Kitsap County Coroner listed his cause of death as severe multiple blunt force injuries to the head and multiple recent rib fractures, the sheriff's office said in a release.  His manner of death was determined to be homicide.

"We are extremely saddened by the brutal pain and suffering this baby endured during
the last few hours of his life," Kitsap County Sheriff's Office Lt. Jon VanGesen said in a release. "The traumatic injuries to the infant were extensive and shocking, even to our most senior criminal investigators."

The baby's name was not released.  His father was arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder and his bail was set at $1 million. He is expected to be in court Dec. 9. He will be identified when he is formally charged.