I can't say I even believe a lot of dad MICHAEL CUTLER'S story. Not unless he's an idiot in addition to being an abuser. If the baby rolls off the bed onto a tile floor, then why would you put the baby back on to the same bed again? You're expecting a different outcome the second time she moves? I've heard of dads that "snap" for crying and dirty diapers, but this is the first time I've heard of a dad who "snapped" (shook the baby, causing severe or fatal brain damage) because (drum roll) THE BABY ROLLED OVER. Unfreaking believable.
However, I have posted quite a few stories here at Dastardly on babysitting dads who became "frustrated" (e.g. severely injured, neglected, and/or or killed the baby) because their video game was interrupted. That, unfortunately, is not new.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10007/1026399-53.stm
North Side man given 10-20 years in death of baby
Thursday, January 07, 2010
By Paula Reed Ward, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Michael Cutler was playing video games on March 13, 2006, when he heard his 7-month-old daughter roll off the bed and onto the tile floor.
He went into the bedroom, picked her up and put her back.
Mr. Cutler, 24, of the North Side, returned to his game, and heard Kamya fall off again.
"He became somewhat angry at that time, shook her and brought her out to the couch," said Assistant District Attorney Chris Hoffman.
But the baby rolled off again.
And Mr. Cutler shook her again.
Yesterday, he pleaded no contest to third-degree murder and was sentenced by Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Donald E. Machen to spend 10 to 20 years in prison.
Jury selection in the case against Mr. Cutler was to begin yesterday.
However, Mr. Hoffman and defense attorney James Sheets worked out a deal shortly before it was to start.
During the sentencing, Mr. Sheets said his client was "extremely remorseful."
"He certainly never intended to harm the child," he told the judge. "He misses his daughter very much."
According to the statement Mr. Cutler gave to police, after he shook his daughter the second time, he placed her in a bouncy seat -- and later down for a nap on the bed again.
When Mr. Cutler's girlfriend noticed their daughter wasn't breathing well, they called paramedics to their home in the 1500 block of Garfield Avenue.
"When paramedics arrived, both the mother and father were extremely distraught," Mr. Hoffman said.
Kamya died about 20 minutes after arriving at Allegheny General Hospital.
She had hemorrhages in both eyes, which indicated a forcible injury, Mr. Hoffman said.
The maximum sentence Mr. Cutler could have faced on the third-degree murder charge was 20 to 40 years. The standard guideline called for six to 12 years.
He also pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a child. There was no additional penalty.
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10007/1026399-53.stm#ixzz0bxj6uS7X
