Dad deemed competent to stand trial in his 5-week-old son's death (Lincoln, Nebraska)

Dad CHRISTOPHER DUFFEK is apparently now competent to stand trial for the death of his 5-week-old son (dad has a history of schizophrenia and bipolar condition). Dad is accused of shaking the baby because he wouldn't stop crying, and hitting the baby in the chest. He then is accused of waiting an hour till he woke the mother to tell her that the baby was having trouble breathing.

http://journalstar.com/news/local/article_c08c81b2-86c2-11de-b38b-001cc4c03286.html

Judge: Lincoln man competent for trial in infant son's death
By LORI PILGER / Lincoln Journal Star Posted: Tuesday, August 11, 2009 5:00 pm

A judge has said a Lincoln man now is competent to stand trial for the death of his 5-week-old son a day after Christmas.

But on the recommendation of a psychiatrist, Christopher Duffek, 23, will remain at the Lincoln Regional Center, where he was committed in May after being found incompetent for trial.

In court Tuesday, District Judge Paul Merritt Jr. said he would stay there rather than going back to jail, "due to his tenuous emotional state."

Duffek is accused of child abuse resulting in the death of his son, 5-weeks-old Sebastian Duffek.

If convicted of the charge, he would face 20 years to life in prison.

Police say the child's mother, Josie Trine, called police at 7:21 a.m. Dec. 26, saying her baby was having difficulty breathing.

The officer who responded started CPR, but it was too late for the boy, who had bruises on his neck and shoulders, court records say. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Police believe Duffek held his son by the neck and shook him for as long as half an hour, frustrated that the boy would not stop crying, according to the arrest affidavit. They allege he also hit the baby on the chest with his fist, then waited for more than an hour after Sebastian stopped breathing before he woke up Trine.

In court records, police said Duffek is bipolar, suffers from schizophrenia and was released from mental health treatment around the time of the boy's death.