Police: Cat strangling dad broke infant daughter's skull (Auburn, Washington)

Animal abuse often goes hand in hand with child abuse.

Dad is identified as ROBERT STEPHEN MEADOR.

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Police-Cat-strangling-father-broke-infant-3997994.php

Police: Cat strangling father broke infant daughter's skull

BY LEVI PULKKINEN, SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

Published 8:22 p.m., Wednesday, October 31, 2012

An Auburn father accused of breaking his 2 ½-month-old daughter’s skull is behind bars and facing a child abuse charge.

King County prosecutors contend Robert Stephen Meador choked and threw the infant girl on Oct. 19 after the girl began crying. Prosecutors note the girl nearly died in the attack – she was resuscitated by her step-grandfather after sustaining a fractured skull, a bleeding brain and injuries to her body. 

Meador, a 34-year-old now believed to be homeless, was convicted in his teens of strangling a housecat, Senior Deputy Prosecutor Cecelia Gregson told the court. Gregson suggested Meador is a threat to people and animals if he is released from jail, where he remains on $250,000 bail.

In charging documents, a King County Sheriff’s Office detective contended Meador was watching his daughter when she began to cry.

Meador picked up the girl by her throat and shook her violently before slamming her into a plastic basinet, Detective Michael Gordon told the court. The girl stopped breathing after the attack, Gordon continued, prompting Meador to attempt to resuscitate her before rushing to his daughter’s step-grandfather for help.

The girl’s step-grandfather resuscitated her before an ambulance arrived. The girl was ultimately taken to Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital, where staff opined the girl’s injuries were not accidental.

Having offered several explanations for his daughter’s injuries, Meador ultimately admitted to attacking the infant, Gordon said. He also recreated the attack on video.

“Despite the violence he unleashed on the doll used to represent (his daughter,) he did not show emotion, nor did he say anything to suggest he had any feelings of regret for what he had done,” Gordon told the court.

Gordon noted Meador told his daughter’s mother to keep her parents away from their child following the attack. The detective described Meador’s demand as “remarkable” given that the girl’s step-grandfather likely saved her life.

While Meador's criminal history is limited to one conviction for animal cruelty, Gregson noted facts of that assault are concerning.

 In 1996, Meador choked a house cat until it bled from the nose and mouth on two occasions. It died during the second attack due to a broken neck.

“The defendant poses a grave danger to the safety and well-being of vulnerable humans and animals,” Gregson told the court.

Meador has been charged with one count of first-degree assault of a child. He faces eight to 10 years in prison if convicted as charged.