Dad charged with assault in brutal beating of 3-month-old son; baby in induced coma (Brentwood, New Hampshire)

As so often happens, Mom had to work and support the family even though her baby was only 3 months old. So the deadbeat useless father took over as caretaker--only to nearly kill the baby for normal infantile behavior.

Dad is identified as JOSE A. ORTA-SANTANA.

http://www.unionleader.com/article/20150305/NEWS03/150309475

March 05. 2015 11:34AM

Police say Newmarket father admitted punching baby out of frustration

By JASON SCHREIBER and JAMES A. KIMBLE
Union Leader Correspondents

BRENTWOOD — A Newmarket father admitted he punched his 3-month-old baby boy repeatedly in the head and caused multiple fractures by squeezing him because he wasn’t getting enough sleep and the infant frustrated him, police said in an affidavit.


“I know, I hit him a few times and I’m sorry,” Jose A. Orta-Santana told police in an hour-long interview reported in an affidavit filed Thursday in Brentwood Circuit Court.


Orta-Santana, 25, of 275 Great Bay Woods, faces first- and second-degree assault charges for allegedly beating the baby, who has been in an induced coma in the intensive care unit at Boston Children’s Hospital.


Police said the child is expected to survive.


Orta-Santana is accused of striking the infant repeatedly in the head with his fist, causing a fractured skull. The charges also allege he caused numerous other bone fractures to the baby’s feet, legs and torso.


“This is probably the most serious child-abuse case that we’ve dealt with in a long time. I’ve been a police officer for 30 years, and this has got to be in the top two or three that I’ve ever seen,” Newmarket Police Chief Kevin Cyr said.


Orta-Santana waived arraignment Thursday and was ordered held on $100,000 cash bail at the Rockingham County jail.


The infant first was brought to Exeter Hospital on Feb. 28 by his parents, Orta-Santana and Carissa Sarazin.


Police said that in an interview with police on Wednesday, Sarazin said she received a message from Orta-Santana on Feb. 28 saying she needed to come home from work early because there was a problem with their son, the affidavit said.


She told police she arrived home and noticed swelling on the right side of the boy’s head.


After the initial emergency room visit in Exeter, the baby was flown to Boston Children’s Hospital.


“The initial information was that (the boy) had sustained a fractured skull under suspicious circumstances,” Lt. Kyle True wrote.


In the interview Wednesday, Orta-Santana initially gave a story he allegedly told to hospital staff when the child was first brought to the hospital, claiming he slipped on a cloth rag while holding the baby and that they both fell onto the floor, causing the child to bump his head.


“When asked to explain the other 15 bone fractures to (the boy’s) ribs, wrists, legs and feet, he admitted to me that he would get ‘frustrated’ with (the boy) because of the constant crying and having to care for him, and he would squeeze (him) extremely tight to his body until he stopped crying. He stated that he grabbed and squeezed the legs and feet of (the boy) extremely hard when he was changing him,” True wrote in the affidavit.


Orta-Santana also allegedly told police that he “grabbed his wrist and squeezed extremely hard while bathing him. He did this because he was frustrated that (the boy) would squirm in the bath tub,” the affidavit said.


When True told Orta-Santana that he didn’t believe the story about how he fell while holding the child, causing the skull fracture, Orta-Santana began to cry and allegedly said, “I know, I hit him a few times and I’m sorry,’” the affidavit said.
 #Orta-Santana went on to tell police that he was frustrated and on edge because he doesn’t get enough sleep, according to the affidavit.


“He stated that he held (the boy) with his right arm and used his fist to punch him three times on the right side of his head. He stated that after he struck (the boy) he put him on the floor and (he) began to whine,” the affidavit said.


Orta-Santana then allegedly explained how he noticed that he had seriously injured the boy and that his head was swelling.


True asked Orta-Santana to demonstrate the power of the punches he allegedly used on his son.


“Orta-Santana stood up and struck me three times in the arm with extreme force causing significant pain,” True wrote in the affidavit.


Orta-Santana also told police that he would occasionally throw the baby onto the bed with “enough force to cause him to bounce up off the bed,” the affidavit said.


Doctors told police that the baby suffered serious injuries that included a significant cerebral contusion; two skull fractures; bruising on the right side of his head and ear with cuts; a contusion under the skull fractures; subdural hematoma; numerous rib fractures; and other leg fractures.


According to the complaints, the skull fracture allegedly occurred on Feb. 28 at an address in Newmarket. The other injuries are alleged to have happened earlier. The baby was born Nov. 25.


Orta-Santana is due back in court on March 12 at 9:30 a.m. for a probable cause hearing.