Dad to stand trial for abusing 5-month-old daughter; previously convicted of abusing another child in 2008 (Hudsonville, Michigan)

Notice that this isn't the first time dad RYAN KUPRES has abused a baby. Wonder if Mom even knew about that earlier felony conviction. Also notice that although Mom is not charged with a crime, she has still lost custody to foster care. 

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2012/12/father_to_stand_trial_in_secon.html

Father to stand trial in second child abuse case since 2008

By Kyle Moroney on December 19, 2012 at 6:30 AM, updated December 19, 2012 at 6:31 AM 

HUDSONVILLE, MI -- A father charged with first-degree child abuse for the second time has been ordered to stand trial in Ottawa County Circuit Court.

Several witnesses testified during Ryan Kupres’ preliminary hearing in Ottawa County District Court in Hudsvonville on Tuesday, Dec. 18. A judge determined there was enough evidence in the case to send it to Circuit Court on Jan. 14.

Kupres was arrested in late November on allegations that he hurt his then 5-month-old daughter, Layla, last March.

He faces the same felony charge that he was convicted of in 2008 in relation to another child, and for which he was sentenced to one year in jail. That victim, also his child, has since recovered.

In the current case, police allege Layla suffered injuries in late March while she was at her Zeeland home with her parents, Kupres and Jessica Jones.

Suspicions arose after doctors at Zeeland Community Hospital and Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital examined Layla after she was brought in by her parents with flu-like symptoms in late March.

Dr. Sarah Brown, of the Center for Child Protection at the children’s hospital, detailed her examinations of Layla and the baby’s medical history.

Brown noted that through a CT scan, doctors discovered Layla had a subdural hemorrhage -- bleeding in the layers between her brain and dura – on the left side of her brain.

The doctor also testified on Tuesday that the infant had several bruises on her head and jawline – something that her parents had reportedly said was likely caused by her “pinching” her cheeks.

“I do not believe a 5-month-old could pinch herself to cause that injury,” Brown said on the stand. 

Ottawa County Assistant Prosecutor JoEllen Haas and Kupres’ attorney, Philip Sielski, questioned Brown, Jones and Kupres’ mother, Vicki Hedgecock, during Tuesday’s preliminary hearing. The hearing detailed the events, as well as Layla’s symptoms prior to and following Layla’s March 31 visit to the Zeeland hospital.

On March 25, Kupres had said Layla was vomiting while in the bathtub and that when he got in the tub to pick her up, Layla was “flailing” and her head hit his leg. She also had a bruise on her right leg that, in Brown’s opinion, was not consistent with Kupres’ report that it hit against the side of the tub, she said.

Brown testified the blood covering Layla’s brain was less than a week old from when the infant had her first scan on March 31. There was separate bleeding in the back of Layla’s head and around the front and back of her spinal cord, with bruising on the back, which Brown also believes occurred about seven days prior to the March 31 scan.

Brown considered Layla’s head injuries “severe,” and could cause headaches and severe vomiting. 

“The only reason (for that bleeding) is significant trauma caused that injury,” Brown said.

In addition to the head and spinal bleeding, Brown detailed Layla’s X-rays, which also showed fractures in her shoulders and legs. 

Layla’s injuries were “clearly life threatening,” the doctor testified.

When Layla’s mom, Jessica Jones, took the stand, she went through the details of the days leading up to the March 31 hospital visit – however, said she couldn’t remember certain events.

“A lot has happened in my life the last several months,” she said.

She recalled a day when Layla was with Kupres and his mother at her house where Layla had been vomiting and then went “limp.” Jones also discovered a bruise on the back of Layla’s head.

“In my mind, there is nothing that could explain an injury like that,” Jones said.

Layla is currently in foster care, but is in Jones’ care a “majority of the time,” she said in court.

Kupres relinquished his parental rights to Layla in August.