Dad charged with 2nd-degree murder in death of 1-month-old son (Portageville, Missouri)

Dad is identified as KADE STRINGFELLOW.

http://wreg.com/2012/07/23/portageville-missouri-father-charged-in-infant-sons-death/

Portageville, MO Father Charged In Infant Son’s Death

Posted on: 6:19 pm, July 23, 2012, by Mike Suriani, updated on: 06:41am, July 24, 2012

(New Madrid County, MO) Investigators say a one-month-old child died of severe injuries and now his father is charged with second degree murder.

It happened in Portageville, MO last week.

23-year-old Kade Stringfellow was arraigned in New Madrid County Court Monday in the death of Karson Stringfellow.

Forrest Bell’s living room is just a few steps from the apartment where police say an unspeakable case of child abuse took place, “First of all I couldn’t believe it. Then I was absolutely devastated.”

Bell says she has no mercy for whoever is responsible, “I believe that if anybody does that to a child, they should have that done to them.”

The infant was taken to a Missouri hospital July 16th with a brain injury, four broken ribs and other injuries.

Stringfellow’s story to deputies was he fell while holding Karson but doctors say the baby’s injuries and the father’s story don’t match.

News of the baby’s death brought emotional response from people we talked with Monday in Portageville.

Tom Lewis is a friend of Karson’s mother and says there’s no way she could have been involved in the tragedy, “You couldn’t ask for a better mother than what Cayla is to her children. She loves them very much and I know there was no abuse from her to her kids.”

Lewis said if Stringfellow is responsible for the abuse, he deserves to be punished, “I don’t think he needs the death sentence. I think he needs to spend the rest of his natural-born life in prison because they’ll take care of him in there.”

The infant’s death is hard on Forrest Bell, a mother and grandmother. She vividly recalls the day Cayla Stringfellow brought newborn son Karson home for the first time, “Of course we run over there, ‘Oh I want to see the baby’. And the baby was gorgeous, I mean just absolutely gorgeous.”

Kade Stringfellow is being held on $100,000 cash bond.

He is scheduled to be back in court August 9th.