Dad charged with seriously injuring 4-month-old son (Twin Falls, Idaho)

Dad is identified as MICHAEL THOMIS MORANVILLE. 

Given that the rib fractures were in "advanced stages of healing," this is not the first time that this poor baby has been abused.

Even though Mom has not been charged with any wrongdoing, she has still lost the baby to foster care.

http://magicvalley.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/twin-falls-father-charged-with-injuring-baby/article_75626030-b431-11e2-af48-001a4bcf887a.html

Twin Falls Father Charged with Injuring Baby

5 hours ago • By Alison Gene Smith

TWIN FALLS • A Twin Falls man was arrested after, police say, he seriously injured his infant son earlier this year.

Michael Thomis Moranville, 21, was arraigned in Twin Falls County 5th District Court on the charge of felony injury to a child and released on his own recognizance on Thursday.

On March 4, Twin Falls police were notified that Boise detectives were dispatched to St. Luke’s Medical Center in Boise for a 4-month-old Twin Falls child who was admitted into the pediatric intensive care unit for a brain bleed. Boise detectives also told Twin Falls police that an X-ray revealed that the child had two fractured ribs that were in advanced stages of healing.

The boy was brought to the hospital by his parents.

According to a police report, in an interview with detectives the boy’s father, Moranville, told police that on the evening of Dec. 23 he gave his son a bath at their home in the 1200 block of Twin Falls Loop in Twin Falls.

Moranville told police that he was holding the baby in his left arm while trying to remove the towel the baby was wrapped in with his right arm, the report states. Then, he told police, the baby made a movement that caused him to slip out of Moranville’s arms and fall to the floor, the report states. According to the report, Moranville said the baby may have hit a changing table shelf before hitting the carpeted floor.

Moranville told police that the baby cried for about 30 seconds and had no visible injuries.

The report states that although there were no visible injuries, the parents decided to take the baby to St. Luke’s Magic Valley Medical Center to be checked out.

Moranville's wife told Boise police that medical staff then performed a CT scan on the baby and nothing of concern was found, the report states.

Moranville told police the baby began throwing up excessively between Dec. 29 and Jan. 11 and saw several doctors at St. Luke’s in Twin Falls and Boise.

After several appointments, nurses ordered a CT scan because the baby’s head began to grow abnormally, the father told police. The report states that the CT scan revealed that the baby had fluid in his brain.

Then, on March 5, Moranville and the baby’s mother took the boy to St. Luke’s in Boise where he was admitted and had surgery performed to relieve the pressure, the father told police. At that time doctors discovered the fractured ribs and became worried about child abuse, the report states.

In an interview with police on March 8, the report states, Moranville said that sometime between Jan. 15 and Jan. 18 he was having an argument with his wife. Moranville told police he grabbed the baby away from his wife but was not gentle with him. While walking away, Moranville told police, he squeezed his son too hard and the baby began to cry. According to the report, Moranville also admitted to shaking the baby for about 10 seconds. Moranville said the baby did not lose consciousness or act strangely, the report states.

“Mr. Moranville told me that he didn’t shake his son as if he meant to kill him because it was never his intention to hurt him,” officer Eric Barzee wrote in the report. “But after it happened, he realized he’d gone too far.”

Police also interviewed the baby’s mother. The report states that the 20-year-old woman said her husband gets frustrated and punches walls or furniture, but she had never seen him hurt their son.

On March 19, the baby was released from the Boise hospital and placed with foster parents.

A March 27 report by doctors states that the baby’s injuries are highly concerning and are consistent with the diagnosis of child abuse.

Twin Falls County prosecutors filed a case against Moranville on May 1. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 10.