Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Dad convicted of manslaughter in death of 2-month-old son (Everett, Washington)

Yet another case where Mom was forced back to work before the baby was even 3-months-old, and a short-tempered father with no nurturing skills was drafted to do "caretaking" in her place.

All of this profoundly opposed to the way humans and mammals have evolved. So the results are deadly and predictable. It is not an anomaly that fathers are the majority of perpetrators in shaken baby deaths. We need decent maternity leaves for moms NOW.


Dad is identified as BRIAN PEREZ REYES.

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20141013/NEWS01/141019538/Father-convicted-in-babys-shaking-death

Published: Monday, October 13, 2014, 8:17 p.m.

Father convicted in baby's shaking death

By Diana Hefley, Herald Writer

EVERETT — Daniel Levi Perez Reyes died in his mother's arms. He was a healthy, 2-month-old boy when he was left with his father on June 27, 2013, while his mother went to work. The next morning Daniel was brought to a hospital.

He wasn't breathing and didn't have a pulse. Doctors revived him but Daniel showed no signs of brain activity. He was removed from life support the next day.

Doctors suspected the worst. An autopsy confirmed the violence. The 13-pound baby had been violently shaken, causing injuries to the boy's brain, neck and the nerves to his diaphragm.

On Monday, a Snohomish County judge convicted the child's father of first-degree manslaughter. The evidence showed that Brian Perez Reyes was told multiple times that he was too rough with the child, Superior Court Judge Michael Downes said. Perez Reyes' reckless actions caused his son's death, the judge concluded.

Downes also ruled that Daniel's age made him a particularly vulnerable victim.

“This was an infant child, wholly helpless,” the judge said.

That means the defendant could face a much lengthier prison stay when he is sentenced next month. Prosecutors are expected to ask that Perez Reyes be sentenced to 14 years in prison.

Last month, in an unusual move, Perez Reyes, 24, agreed to skip a jury trial and asked Downes to render a verdict after reviewing the investigation.