Trial begins for dad charged with murder of 2-month-old daughter; baby died first day had full-time care of her (Waterloo, Iowa)

Why we need better maternity leaves in this country...

Dad TREVOR EUGENE SMITH was on his 1st DAY of infant care alone...and the @$$hat couldn't even get through a few hours with the baby before he "allegedly" killed her. And that was after one day of sharing care with grandma, because the idiot couldn't do it alone.

Honestly, I've had it with these "frustrated" goons playing stay-at-home parent. They don't have the patience or the nurturing skills for it. Let the moms do it--and PAY THEM.

http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/testimony-begins-in-infant-death-case/article_ea7240b1-b56e-5318-a3cb-8a4dde188163.html

Testimony begins in infant death case
1 hour ago

• By Jeff Reinitz

WATERLOO | The mother of Aubriana Christian broke into tears as she recounted how the two-month-old child died after doctors removed breathing tubes in October 2012.

“She took a couple breaths, but I held her, and they eventually declared her dead,” Samantha Christian told jurors Wednesday as the trial of the baby’s father began in Black Hawk County District Court.

Trevor Eugene Smith, 28, is charged with first-degree murder and child endangerment causing death. Assistant County Attorney Linda Fangman said Smith admitted to shaking the baby Sept. 26, 2012, because he was frustrated the child was crying.

She said Aubriana suffered bleeding on the brain in multiple locations and had two bruises on her scalp. She had no chance of regaining consciousness or improving if she stayed on life support. Doctors concluded she died of blunt force trauma or acceleration/deceleration trauma to the head, Fangman said.

“It doesn’t matter that he got frustrated. It doesn’t matter that he got mad. He is responsible for those actions,” Fangman said.

Public Defense Tomas Rodriguez said the death a “tragic and devastating accident,” and Smith didn’t commit murder.

He said Smith is a military veteran who served his country and loved his daughter.

“Trevor Smith is a good man. He leads a good an honorable life,” Rodriguez said.

“His child became ill while in his care and eventually died,” he said. “In caring for his ill child, Trevor Smith acted with care, with comfort, which concern.”

Smith and Christian knew each other since high school in Webster City, where they grew up. But they didn’t become involved with one another until the fall of 2011 while Christian was living on Wellington Street in Waterloo and working as a registered nurse in Cedar Falls. Smith moved in with
Christian in January 2012, and Aubriana was born in August of that year.

Christian told jurors her daughter was a normal, healthy child, and Smith was a loving and caring father.

She said her paid maternity leave ran out in September 2012, and she returned to work on the second shift at Sartori Hospital. On the first day, her mother and Smith looked after the child. On following day, Sept. 26, Smith was alone with Aubriana.

Smith called 911 at 10:32 p.m. and told dispatchers the baby wasn’t breathing. He followed CPR instructions over the telephone until paramedics arrived.

“You could tell by looking at the baby that we needed to get going,” Paramedic Michael Spence with Waterloo Fire Rescue testified. He said the child was limp and pale and didn’t have a pulse.

Aubriana was treated at Covenant Medical Center and then flown to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City.

Fangman said Smith first told doctors and police that the girl gasped and then quit breathing after he fed her a bottle at the apartment. She said Smith changed his story 13 times and admitted to police he shook the child.

After Smith told police about the shaking, he cried as he told Christian.

“I freaked out, bawling, and I probably ran out of the room,” Christian told jurors.

Testimony in the trial continues Thursday.