A Maryland couple was arrested after the death of their 2-month-old daughter who suffered head injuries, with the father allegedly telling police the girl’s injuries were caused by “Satan slamming a door on the child,” according to charging documents and prosecutors.
Oscar Pineda and Katerin Monzon-Alvarado, both 21, are facing charges for first and second-degree child abuse, first and second-degree assault and reckless endangerment that carry a maximum possible sentence of 55 years in prison in connection with the death of 2-month-old Aida Mikea Monzon Alvarado, Baltimore Police said, adding that they could face additional homicide charges pending the outcome of the autopsy report.
The baby was taken to Harbor Hospital on Wednesday with what doctors described as “suspicious” severe bruising around her eyes and jawline. A later examination revealed what charging documents describe as “significant head and brain trauma” and “multiple skull fractures” that were not noticed during the initial examination, charging documents state, according to CBS Baltimore.
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The girl’s father allegedly claimed to police that his daughter was injured “due to a supernatural force or Satan slamming a door on the child.” The mother said her 2-year-old son often jumps on the bed, which caused the baby to fall onto the floor, a prosecutor said at a court hearing on Friday, according to the outlet.
The prosecutor argued that the extent of the girl’s injuries could not have been caused by a single fall from the bed.
Police said the girl’s mother brought the baby to the hospital on Wednesday after she became unresponsive. The woman initially told police the baby became unresponsive while lying face down in their bed after she was fed.
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Prosecutors said the mother told investigators the child was “freezing and in shock” when she took her to the hospital.
Doctors said the baby “suffered from significant head and brain trauma” and “sustained frontal lobe hemorrhaging and a subdural hemorrhage,” according to the charging documents.
Hospital staff could not revive the child, and she died in the hospital.
Both parents later admitted to investigators that they noticed the girl’s bruises on Sept. 6 and that she began vomiting the following day. They said they did not seek medical treatment until she was unresponsive on Wednesday.
The pair is Guatemalan nationals, and prosecutors argued they pose “an extreme flight risk.”
Both parents were held without bail.
