Dad "snaps," 9-day-old baby gets fractured ribs (Danbury, Connecticut)

ZACHARY IRWIN was another one of those stressed-out dads who couldn't take it. But rather than go for a walk or something, he grabbed his crying 9-day-old daughter and squeezed her hard enough to break her ribs. Mom took the baby to the hospital when it was clear that she was having trouble breathing and wouldn't eat.

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Police: Father of injured Danbury newborn claims he 'snapped'
Affidavit reveals injured infant suffered broken ribs
By John PirroStaff Writer
Updated: 09/01/2009 12:34:05 AM EDT

DANBURY -- Stuck in a low-paying job. Living with his in-laws. Fighting with his wife about money and their two children.

Sometimes, 25-year-old Zachary Irwin told Danbury police, he "felt like a shaken-up soda bottle ready to explode."

Early on the morning of Aug. 26, after yet another lengthy argument with his wife, Irwin grabbed his crying 9-day-old daughter, held her up to his face, and "snapped," he reportedly told a Youth Bureau detective.

Yelling, "What is wrong with you/" and "Why won't you stop crying?" he squeezed the infant so hard he broke her ribs, according to an arrest warrant affidavit on file in Danbury Superior Court.

Irwin was arrested by police the next day, after he and his wife took the child to Danbury Hospital and told doctors she was having trouble breathing and wouldn't eat.

Hospital personnel suspected abuse and contacted police, who subsequently charged Irwin with first-degree assault and risk of injury to a minor.

The child suffered multiple rib fractures and was taken by LifeStar to Yale-New Haven Hospital, police said.

Neither the baby's mother nor the child were named in court documents and were identified in the warrant only as "Mother Doe" and "Infant Doe."

But other court papers indicate Irwin is married and that the Hall Passway residence where they were living was the home of his wife's parents. The couple also have a 1-year-old son.

Police said Irwin told them he had been discharged from the Marine Corps for medical reasons but was trying to get back in. Meanwhile, he was working at a local supermarket.