Dad accused of murdering girlfriend's baby in front of his daughter (Anza, California)

Dad DANNIE JOE FARNUM is currently on trial for the murder of his girlfriend's 7-month-old son. He "allegedly" shook and threw the baby in front of his own daughter, who was only 4 years of age at the time. His 2-year-old son was also in the home. Daddy was alone with the kids and babysitting while his new girlfriend was out. The baby died from a massive brain fracture.

It's impossible to tell for sure whether Daddy had custody or whether this took place during a designated visitation time. But it's sick that a guy with such such a trigger-happy temper was allowed contact with his children at all. Somehow, I suspect this was not the first time he had gone off on somebody in this way. Notice that there is no mention of the mother of these children, or her personal history with this dude. Nor is there any mention of how this father got custody and/or visitation, and who gave it to him.

INVISIBLE MOTHER ALERT.

http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/swcounty/article_d5dca485-0e71-5215-b64f-49260e27b7e6.html

ANZA: Trial begins in death of infant
By JOHN HUNNEMAN
North County Times
Posted: Monday, September 19, 2011 8:00 pm

The fate of an Anza man accused in the November 2008 killing of an infant may depend on the testimony of his daughter, just 4 years old at the time, who told investigators she saw her father shaking the baby.

Opening statements were given and testimony got under way Monday at the Southwest Justice Center in French Valley in the murder trial of Dannie Joe Farnum, 30. He is accused of killing the 7-month-old son of his girlfriend at her rural home in the 40000 block of Apple Road in Anza.

Four witnesses, including the now-6-year-old girl ----- who because of her age is not being identified ---- were called to the stand on the first day of testimony.

An interview with the girl, videotaped three days after the baby died, also was played for jurors.

On the stand, the girl pointed to Farnum when asked if she saw her daddy in court. Farnum smiled and wiped away tears as his daughter testified.

For the most part, the girl said she could not remember the events of almost three years ago.

However, when asked what happened to the baby, she replied, "It got shooked."

"Who shook the baby?" Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Garcia asked.

"Dannie," she said.

"Why did Dannie shake the baby?" Garcia asked.

"Because he was mad," the girl said.

In her opening statement, Garcia told jurors that Farnum was the last person to be alone with the infant, who an autopsy revealed had died of blunt-force trauma to the head, according to court records.

"A massive skull fracture was discovered on the baby's head," Garcia said. "(The injury) was intentional and took an amount of force you wouldn't believe."

Garcia also said Farnum's daughter had seen her father shake the baby and throw him down "because daddy was having a fit," Garcia said the young girl had told investigators.

"(Farnum) has tried to blame this death on everyone but him, to include his own toddler children," Garcia said. "I'm going to ask you to find him guilty of crushing this baby's skull."

In his opening statement, Deputy Public Defender Gregory A. Henderson told jurors there was no disagreement that the baby had lost his life that day.

"This is a sad case," Henderson said. "But the evidence will show the baby did not die at the hands of my client."

Henderson said Farnum found the baby in his crib not breathing and attempted CPR to revive the child.

"That is what the daughter saw (Farnum) doing," Henderson said. "My client did everything he could to save (the infant)."

According to investigators, Farnum and the infant's biological mother, Delice "Sharon" Preston, had been dating for several months and all were at Preston's residence that day.

Late in the afternoon, Preston left to buy groceries for dinner, leaving Farnum and his two children ---- the girl and his 2-year-old son ---- and her baby at the home.

Preston told investigators that after returning home, Farnum had checked twice on the infant, who slept in a crib in the master bedroom.

The first time was to give the infant a bottle. On the second visit, Farnum yelled to Preston that the baby was not breathing. Farnum called 911 and began CPR, court records state.

Emergency crews arrived and tried to revive the baby, who was eventually flown to Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar, where he was pronounced dead, authorities said.

The following day, while being interviewed by Riverside County Child Protective Services, the young girl told social worker Francisca Russo, "The baby was crying and dad was mad," Russo testified on Monday.

"She said, 'He hurt the baby,'" Russo testified. "He put (the infant) down on the bed hard."

Russo testified that she did not videotape or make an audio recording of that interview.

Two days later ---- following the autopsy on the infant ---- the young girl was interviewed again, this time by Child Protective Services worker Denise Bowman at Riverside County Regional Medical Center in Moreno Valley. That videotaped interview was played for jurors Monday.

In that interview, the girl told Bowman, "My daddy shooked the baby."

Bowman handed the girl a doll and asked her to show how the baby was shaken.

The girl shook the doll back and forth, then turned it upside down and, grabbing it by the legs, appeared to hit the doll's head on the floor.

"He got hurt," the girl said.

"Who hurt him?" asked Bowman.

"My dad," the girl replied.

Farnum, who has been charged with murder and child abuse resulting in death, faces life in prison if convicted, Garcia said.

Testimony is expected to resume Tuesday.