Court documents: Dad suffocated 7-month-old baby with blankets for crying in the middle of the night (Pima County, Arizona)

Poor, poor daddy HENRY DIAZ. This little darling has an anger management problem, can't you see? Plus, it's just outrageous that precious Daddy would have to get up in the middle of the night and give the baby a bottle...even after Mom prepared the bottle. (Even though we're lectured AGAIN AND AGAIN that daddies are just as good at this sort of thing as moms.) Totally unreasonable! So Daddy suffocated the crying baby with a couple of blankets. That's showing the baby who's boss, huh? Appears Daddy Dearest had injured the baby before too, based on all the fractures in various states of healing.

http://azstarnet.com/news/local/crime/article_f3d17dd9-c3c6-5771-ae89-b5bb10b6b9e4.html

Infant who died Thursday also had several fractures
Father put blankets on baby's face, report says
Story Father put blankets on baby's face, report says
Jamar Younger
Arizona Daily Star Arizona Daily Star
Posted: Saturday, February 19, 2011 12:00 am


The father of an infant who died Thursday covered his son with blankets when the boy wouldn't stop crying, according to court documents.

A medical exam also showed that 7-month-old Angel Diaz had several fractures that were in various stages of healing, according to the documents.

The infant's mother told Pima County sheriff's detectives Henry Diaz, 19, covered Angel's face with three blankets after the infant started crying in the middle of the night, according to an interim complaint filed in Pima County Justice Court.

Diaz was arrested Thursday on suspicion of first-degree murder and five child-abuse charges, said sheriff's spokesman Deputy Jason Ogan.

Paramedics were called to the 6000 block of South Palo Verde Road, near East Benson Highway, after receiving a 911 call for an infant who wasn't breathing.

Angel was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The cause of death has not been released.

The mother, who is Diaz's girlfriend, told detectives she woke up at about 2 a.m. Thursday when she heard the baby crying, according to the interim complaint.

Diaz told her to make a bottle for the infant, but he refused to give the baby the bottle after she made it. He then reportedly covered Angel's face with the blankets.

When the couple woke up in the morning, the infant was unresponsive.

The medical exam showed the infant had multiple injuries.

Angel had fractures to his right arm below his elbow, his right ankle, a healing fracture to his right femur and healing fractures to his rib cage.

Diaz told detectives he had been rough with the infant in the past, but not to the point of breaking bones.

He said Angel fell off the mother's bed a few weeks ago, but the child didn't appear to be injured.

The man had no further explanation for the child's injuries. The mother told detectives Diaz had problems with his temper.

Detectives determined the extent of the injuries were inconsistent with Diaz's statements.

According to a document from Child Protective Services, the agency never received any prior reports of abuse or neglect by Diaz, who is being held in the Pima County jail.