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Last updated on Wednesday, December 7, 2016
(JASONVILLE) - A Jasonville man was arrested after he allegedly tossed an infant into a crib, injuring the child.
Jasonville Police arrested 36-year-old Jeffrey Elkin on charges felony charges of neglect of a dependent and battery causing serious injury. He is being held without bond. His initial hearing is set for December 12.
According to a probable cause affidavit, police and Department of Child Services were called to Greene County General Hospital on November 25, after a report of an infant admitted for difficulty breathing and who had suffered a subdural hematoma. The child was transferred to Riley Children's Hospital for treatment.
Once at Riley, doctors reported the infant had retinal hemorrhages in the left eye, as well as bilateral subdermal hematoma and a subarachnoid hematoma. These two types of hematomas means the infant's head was hit at least twice. The child was admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit after suffering seizures.
Elkin told police he had been watching the infant and two other children.
The following is a timeline of events Elkins told police:
The infant woke around 7 a.m. and that between 8 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. he attempted to give the baby bottle but the baby wouldn't take it so he rocked the infant an patted it on the butt to try and get it to stop fussing.
Then around 9:30 a.m. Elkin allegedly again attempted to feed the baby, but the infant refused to eat and finally fell asleep in his arms. He then says he put the infant into a crib around 10:15 a.m.
Around 11:30 a.m. or noon, Elkins told police, the infant woke up screaming. Elkin thought the infant was teething so put Orajel on the baby's gums and put Karo syrup in the baby's bottle because he thought the infant was constipated.
He told police he then noticed the baby was sweating, so he took the child's temperature and then the child went limp. So Elkins allegedly ran to his grandmother's house for help.
He told police that while he was running, the child's head was bouncing off his arm, because the child was limp.
When police asked if he got frustrated watching three children, Elkins responded it was stressful and he gets frustrated, but not aggressive with the children.
Police then consulted with other experts and found running with a child would not have caused the trauma the infant had suffered. Experts say the injuries were consistent with Shaken Baby Syndrome.
Elkins finally admitted that he had dropped the infant in the crib from about 10 inches above the mattress, because the child would not stop crying. But he told police he never threw the child. Elkins told police he then went back into the living room and the child finally stopped crying and had went to sleep.
But police say dropping an infant from that height onto a mattress would not have caused the baby's injuries.
Elkins was then given a doll to demonstrate how he tossed the baby into the crib.
Police say Elkins held the baby doll approximately 24 inches above the table and tossed it onto the table back first.
Elkins then allegedly admitted he threw the infant into the crib too hard and he had removed the infant from the crib by grabbing the baby around the arms and chest and bringing the child to his shoulder without supporting the infant's head.
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