A man has been arrested in Arizona after he allegedly beat his four-week-old daughter to death because she was crying.
Jonathan Enriquez, 22, was booked into the Maricopa County jail Wednesday on first-degree murder and felony child abuse charges.
Police began investigating Enriquez after they responded on July 11 to a report that a baby had stopped breathing, according to AZ Family.
When they arrived at the Mesa apartment, officers found the infant unresponsive, and first responders transported the child to a hospital for treatment. The baby arrived in critical condition.
Police on the scene spoke with the parents but received conflicting information about what happened to the baby.
Enriquez allegedly told police that he had to use force to control the child or the baby would hit herself in the face. He told police that while he did get “frustrated” at the baby, he never hit her.
But Enriquez also allegedly said that the baby choked while feeding on a bottle, hit her head falling out of a car seat, and was cracked in the face by a seat buckle, which caused her eyes to bruise.
After their initial visit to the house, investigators learned that Enriquez allegedly sent a text to the child’s mother on the same day the baby was taken to the hospital. He allegedly asked the mother, who had left to go to work, to return home and told her the baby was not breathing and that he had “messed up.”
Doctors discovered the baby had a fractured skull, bleeding on her brain, bruised eyes, a broken leg and broken ribs. The baby remained in the hospital’s care until she died 15 days later on July 26.
An autopsy was performed and found that the baby’s injuries were caused by “slamming, crushing, or stomping.” The autopsy report describes the severity of the child’s injuries as “catastrophic.”
Police questioned Enriquez again in light of the autopsy. The father allegedly told them that the child had been “crying too much” and that he punched the baby in the right side of her head while she was in her bassinet. He also allegedly admitted to using a very tight swaddle to prevent the girl from crying.
According to court documents, Enriquez allegedly expressed “deep remorse” for what he did, and told police he was ashamed.
He is being held at the Maricopa County Jail on a $1 million bond.
