Babysitting dad arrested on 1st-degree battery charges in shaking of 2-month-old daughter; baby in critical condition (Crawford County, Arkansas)

This is the classic shaken-baby scenario, unfortunately. Dad JESSE LEE HOODENPYLE was babysitting their 2-month-old daughter while the Mother was at work. After she gets home at 11 PM, she notices that the baby was "acting differently." The next morning, when the baby started vomiting and seizing, she quickly took the baby to the hospital. This whole time, Dad is pulling the dumb act, saying he doesn't know anything (he later admitted otherwise). Even though the authorities agree that the mother didn't know of the father's actions, their 18-month-old daughter has been taken by DHS.

http://www.swtimes.com/articles/2010/03/25/news/news032510_11.txt

Father Turns Himself In After Baby Hurt
By Amy Sherrill
Times Record • asherrill@swtimes.com
Thursday, March 25, 2010 9:55 AM CDT

The father of a 2-month-old infant turned himself in to law enforcement Wednesday on a felony warrant accusing him of first-degree battery in connection with what authorities are calling a “classic case of shaken baby syndrome.”

Jesse Lee Hoodenpyle, 26, of Crawford County was arrested at 1 p.m. Wednesday after turning himself in at the Sheriff’s Office, said Crawford County Chief Deputy Ron Brown.

The baby, Taylor Hoodenpyle, is in critical condition at Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock, authorities said.

“The swelling has continued to decrease in her brain, but they do believe that she does have some permanent brain damage,” Brown said.

The baby’s mother, Brittney Cole, was at work when the abuse occurred, Brown added.

The couple have an 18-month-old girl, too. She has been taken into the custody of the state Department of Human Services. A hearing will be held Friday to determine whether the child will be returned to the mother’s custody.

“The mother had no idea what was going on and when (she) found out, she quickly separated herself from the father at the hospital,” Brown said.

The Crawford County Sheriff’s Office was notified March 12 about the baby’s injuries after receiving a call from doctors who were treating the baby in Little Rock.

Hoodenpyle, who does not have a criminal record, told hospital officials that the baby fell and when he picked her up, she was stiff so he shook her, Brown said.

“That story is not consistent with the child’s injuries,” Brown said. “They called us and we, in turn, contacted the Arkansas State Police, and they were able to send an investigator from Little Rock to go talk to him. He made some statements to the investigator that led to (the warrant) for his arrest.”

Hoodenpyle was watching the children on March 10 while the mother was working. She arrived home about 11 p.m. and noticed the baby was acting differently. The next morning, the baby started vomiting and seizing. The mother panicked and quickly took the girl to a local hospital, said Capt. Jimmy Damante.

“She still didn’t know what happened,” Damante said. “He didn’t tell her what happened. She kept asking what he thought was wrong with the baby and he said, ‘I don’t know.’”

The baby was transferred to Children’s Hospital after hospital officials could not determine what was wrong with her, authorities said.