Dad charged with killing 6-month-old son during very first overnight visitation (Genesee County, New York)

Dad is identified as JEFFREY DEATS. It is stupid for men who have only had casual sexual relationships with a woman to have any subsequent access rights to the baby. They are not committed to the mother, the family, or the child. They are not bonded to the mother, the family, or the child. It's just a recipe for disaster as we see here.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/12/18/man-charged-infant-death/20616835/

New York man charged in death of infant

Tina McIntyre-Yee, Rochester Democrat & Chronicle 8:28 p.m. EST December 18, 2014

BATAVIA, N.Y. -- Jeffrey Deats, a 28-year-old Batavia resident accused of recklessly causing the death of a 6-month-old boy, was charged Wednesday with second-degree manslaughter.

An autopsy performed at the Monroe County Medical Examiner's Office indicated Chandler Zuch of Kenmore, N.Y., suffered "multiple injuries to the brain, causing death," said Batavia City Police Chief Shawn Heubusch.

The child's body was sent to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester for further examination.

According to court documents, Chandler's death was reported about 9:30 a.m. Sunday. The documents said Deats and his mother called 911 to report the infant was not breathing.

Emergency responders arrived about 10 a.m. at Deats' home, but attempts to revive the non-responsive infant were unsuccessful, authorities said. The infant was taken to United Memorial Medical Center in Batavia, where he was pronounced dead.

According to Deats' statement, Chandler's mother, Michelle Zuch, told him that DNA testing showed that he was the infant's father, and he had occasional visits with the child.

However, Batavia police spokesman Detective Eric Hill said Thursday night that his department had received documentation showing that Deats is not, in fact, the father of the child.

Deats told police that he was having his first overnight visit with Chandler since he started having visitation with the baby two months ago. Deats and his mother, Jacquelyn Deats, together retrieved the boy from his mother's home Saturday morning.

Deats said to police that on the way back to Batavia, Chandler reached for a plastic toy and smacked himself in the mouth, knocking out a tooth and causing bleeding. He said he called the boy's mom to tell her what happened.

Zuch and police arrived at Deats' home a short time later. According to Deats' statement, the police talked with both Zuch and Deats and checked Chandler's lip.

Deats, who initially said the baby was just fussy, later told police that he tripped and fell down the stairs while holding the infant.

At the time of the fall, Deats said, Chandler's "head was going back and forth really bad," and claimed he tried to protect Chandler as they fell.

According to Jacquelyn Deats' statement, she heard Chandler crying off and on overnight. Early Sunday morning, Deats asked her to watch Chandler, saying he was tired from being up all night. She said to police, "Jeff was really upset. He laid Chandler on the couch and said, 'Now go to sleep, you (expletive).' "

She also said, "When I looked at the baby, I knew something was wrong. He was breathing very slow, shallow and labored breaths. I was just praying that he was going to be okay."

Deats came downstairs about 9:30 a.m. Sunday, according to court documents, after being awakened by Zuch "blowing up my phone again."

He took a photo of Chandler, sent it to Zuch and was suddenly worried that Chandler had died, he told police. He claimed he tried to revive the infant before his mother called 911.

Deats was arraigned Thursday afternoon in Batavia City Court and was remanded to Genesee County Jail on $50,000 cash or $100,000 bond.