Wisconsin – A Wisconsin man was taken into custody earlier this week and charged with one count of physicaI abuse of a chiId by repeated acts intentionaIIy causing great bodiIy harm and one count of stranguIation or suffocation after his 1-month-oId was brought to a hospital with Iife-threatening injuries, Wisconsin authorities said. The parent, 35-year-old WiIIiam, appeared in court, where a judge set his bond at $100,000 cash and scheduled a status hearing for Oct. 23.
The investigation process earlier this week when the baby’s mom took the child to a hospital after noticing injuries to the child’s mouth. Medical staff examined the child and found a series of severe injuries that medical providers and prosecutors say were not consistent with accidental causes. The criminal complaint and hospital records list fractures to both legs, seven broken ribs, a fractured clavicle, a wrist fracture, an eye hemorrhage, chest contusion and internal chest trauma. Prosecutors described the injuries as significant enough that, in the district attorney’s words at the initial hearing, “we are lucky this is not a homicide.”
Law enforcement and medical investigators opened a multi-agency inquiry after the hospital reported the injuries. Medical imaging and examinations were used to document the extent and timing of the fractures and internal trauma; physicians noted multiple rib breaks in various stages of healing, suggesting repeated episodes of blunt force. Child Protective Services and the Outagamie County District Attorney’s Office joined the probe as detectives collected medical records, interviewed witnesses and reviewed statements from family members. Based on that evidence, prosecutors filed felony charges and sought a high cash bond at the defendant’s first court appearance.
During interviews with investigators, the defendant gave several accounts of his behavior and his reactions to the infant’s crying. According to the criminal complaint read in court, he described becoming increasingly angry at the baby’s coIic and high-pitched crying, saying his frustration “builds, builds, builds” and that it could “just snap.”
He told officers he had punched walls and slammed doors to release anger, and he admitted to a single slap and to holding the baby tightly against his chest until the baby went limp at times. When investigators questioned him about the possibility of fatally injuring the child, the father admitted that it was possible, though he claimed he had not meant to cause such harm. He reportedly told officers that he did not understand why the situation was being treated as abuse, insisting that his actions were not intentional, according to the complaint.
During conversations with medical staff, the baby’s mother said she had seen the defendant physically harm the infant about a week earlier during one of his angry outbursts, striking the child in the chest. In a later interview with police, the defendant spoke about his anger problems, admitting that when he became frustrated, he would often punch walls, hit doors, or slam furniture. He also mentioned that there was a particular wall in the home he would strike to release his anger.
The baby required immediate treatment for the injuries discovered at the hospital. Medical staff documented bleeding in the eye and trauma consistent with high-force impact to the chest and legs, and clinicians concluded the pattern of injuries indicated repeated, nonaccidental harm rather than an isolated accident. Prosecutors noted at the initial appearance that the scope and severity of the wounds met the legal threshold for charges of great bodily harm and potential suffocation or strangulation.