"Primary caretaker" stepdad shakes 15-week-old baby girl; she's in intensive care (Lafayette, Indiana)

"Primary caretaker" and stepdad MATTHEW D. SCHULTZ has been arrested for shaking his 15-week-old stepdaughter "four or five" times, causing blood on the brain and retinal hemorrhages. The baby is now in intensive care. Schultz, who is unemployed and is serving as the "primary caretaker" while his wife is working, says he was "stressed." He has admitted to being "verbally degrading" and "getting frustrated" with the baby's crying. (There's that thing with dads and crying again....)

http://www.jconline.com/article/20090624/NEWS03/906240333

Baby hospitalized, stepfather jailed
By SOPHIA VORAVONG • svoravong@jconline.com • June 24, 2009


A 15-week-old Lafayette girl is being treated for severe head injuries, allegedly caused when she was shaken four to five separate times by her stepfather.

Chloe Schulz had blood on her brain and retinal hemorrhages when she was examined last week by doctors at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, according to court documents.

She was placed in intensive care after initial treatment in the emergency room, Detective Joe Clyde of the Lafayette Police Department said Tuesday.

"Her survivability, we hope, is good," he said. "As far as permanent damage, that's unknown as of right now. ... Her injuries were pretty serious."

Chloe's stepfather, Matthew T. Schulz, 20, was arrested late Monday afternoon. He is charged in Tippecanoe Superior Court 1 with neglect of a dependent causing serious bodily injury, a Class B felony.

Schulz was being held Tuesday in the Tippecanoe County Jail on a $50,000 surety bond.

Tippecanoe County's online court database does not indicate whether Schulz has been appointed or obtained an attorney.

Jennifer Strempka, a spokeswoman for Clarian Health, which operates Riley, said Tuesday that she could not confirm or deny whether Chloe was a patient there.

Clyde said Schulz and his wife, Valerie, also 20, took Chloe to St. Elizabeth Medical Center on Friday afternoon. The girl was foaming at the mouth and her eyes were crossed, according to a probable cause affidavit filed with the criminal charge.

Chloe had already been flown via helicopter to Riley by the time investigators arrived.
Clyde said Schulz, who is not employed, was Chloe's primary caregiver while his wife was at work. The family lived in an apartment on Lafayette's south end.

He said Chloe's various levels of injury indicate that she was shaken on different occasions over the past two months.

According to the affidavit, Schulz at first denied harming the girl -- explaining that there were instances when she fell from a swing and a bed and when he accidentally dropped Chloe into her car seat.

He later admitted to getting frustrated and verbally degrading the girl and shaking Chloe to stop her crying. Schulz allegedly said he was stressed from being unemployed and by his marriage, the baby and his in-laws' expectations.

Clyde said Schulz is not Chloe's biological father, though he is listed as her father on the girl's birth certificate. He said the investigation is ongoing.

Schulz appeared before a magistrate Tuesday afternoon for his initial hearing. The prosecutor's office also filed paperwork Monday ordering that Schulz not contact his wife or stepdaughter.

Clyde said no other children lived in the home.