A New Mexico dad is in jail after his 5-month-old infant boy was discovered dead at home over the weekend, according to local enforcement in the Land of Enchantment.
Jared White, 35, is charged with one count each of child abuse leading in death and child abandonment resulting in death, according to Curry County jail records.
The underlying incident apparently began with a late-night weeping session.
According to Amarillo-based ABC affiliate KVII, police were summoned to a house on Maple Street in Clovis, a medium-sized city close across the border from Texas, on Sunday afternoon shortly after 2 p.m. in response to a newborn who was not breathing.
There, life-saving treatments were attempted, and the infant was transported to Plains Regional Medical Center. He was pronounced deceased at 2:42 p.m. by the Clovis Police Department.
In comments to the TV station, a police representative first stated that certain evidence “raised concerns regarding the nature and timing of the infant’s injuries.”
According to Albuquerque-based ABC affiliate KOAT, law police later clarified the imprecise response, stating White gave a story that was inconsistent with other evidence.
According to a criminal complaint acquired by Albuquerque’s NBC affiliate KOB, the baby was resting on the couch when officers arrived.
The father, for his part, claimed to have spotted his son in a tipped-over bouncer after being out at a friend’s house for about an hour. White allegedly informed authorities during an interview that the child’s face was already purple when the terrible finding was made.
According to police, this does not match the child’s death time.
“The main thing about that is the condition that the body was in when we started our investigation didn’t match what the statements were about him being dead for about an hour or so,” police told KOB on Tuesday.
According to investigators, the evidence revealed a far earlier death.
“[The child] was in full rigor mortis at the time he was transported to the hospital,” a copy of the lawsuit obtained by Eastern New Mexico News states. “It was also noted that once taken to the hospital, the rigor mortis began to subside. The release process would take 6-8 hours. This would imply that [the child’s] death must have occurred far earlier than the story being told.”
Additionally, authorities stated that the boy had signs indicating that he had been strangled, as well as verbal evidence to that effect.
According to authorities, a witness identified as the defendant’s acquaintance first believed White’s account of the youngster being located in the tipped-over bouncer just before 911 was called.
“[The friend] said she lifted the blanket and observed Joseph with his face in the mattress and his body to be purple,” according to what was claimed. ” [The friend] stated that at this point, she called for Jared to come into the bedroom, saying, ‘I think your kid is dead.'”
Later, the friend allegedly revised her account to say she observed White strangling his son several hours before making the emergency call, but she was hesitant to act at first because “she was afraid Jared would hurt her” and fled the room, according to the lawsuit.
In a subsequent interview, the father’s acquaintance allegedly told authorities about the night before, when the infant began to cry at 1 a.m.
“[The friend] observed Jared to have wrapped [the child] into a blanket … she then saw Jared lift [the child] into the air by his neck while still being wrapped in the blanket,” continues the complaint. [The friend] characterized Jared as having both hands around [the child’s] neck, choking him.”
A second youngster was discovered alive at the Maple Street home and removed due to the conditions inside, according to authorities.
Detectives reported finding drug paraphernalia inside the house, as well as dog feces. According to the complaint, one bedroom had a soiled mattress and a baby bottle with a cockroach. Another bedroom housed the second child, who was alleged to have diaper rash and slept on a urine-soaked mattress. In conclusion, police enforcement classified the residence as “completely unsanitary and a possible health risk.”
Police described the suspect as “distressed and out of touch with reality,” adding that he “would appear to be fine and have conversations on the phone, then began to cry” and have outbursts.
White is now imprisoned in the Curry County Detention Center without bond.
