Idaho Falls father charged with murder says he didn’t kill his son
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EDITOR’S NOTE: In the video of the court appearance, Robert Saad’s attorney told the court Saad works for Super T Transport in Idaho Falls. The managers of that business reached out to EastIdahoNews.com Wednesday and said that information is not correct. The released the following statement: “The statement made in court by Mr. Saad’s council concerning Super T Transport is not true. Super T Transport has not been contacted by Mr. Saad or Mr. Saad’s council about employment while Mr. Saad is awaiting trial for charges against him. Super T Transport has not offered employment or specific driving duties to Mr. Saad, as was wrongly stated by Mr. Saad’s council.”
IDAHO FALL — A man accused of killing his 9-month-old son pleaded not guilty to murder on Tuesday.
Robert Saad Sr., 30, appeared in court to answer the charge of first-degree murder in connection with the death of Robert Saad Jr. He is currently being held in Bonneville County Jail on a $100,000 bond.
Idaho Falls Police were called to the Saad home on the 1700 block of South Higbee Road on Sept. 15, 2016. It was reported the baby, Robert Saad Jr. was not breathing after falling backward and hitting his head.
The child had been taken to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center where doctors discovered a fracture at the back of his skull and bleeding on his brain, according to court documents. The baby was airlifted to Primary Children’s Hospital where he died Sept. 18, 2016.
RELATED | Court documents show baby died of serious brain injuries, trauma to the head
Detectives told Saad that his son had brain bleeding and severe fractures on the back of his head caused from an incredible amount of force.
“Robert Sr. then said, ’I’ll tell you exactly what happened with that fracture, because I know what happened,'” court documents state. “He said, ’I don’t know if you went out into our backyard, there are big rocks. He fell back and hit his head on one of the rocks.’ I asked when that happened and he said Ashley would know when because she was outside feeding him because he was asleep, on a weekday morning. He said he doesn’t know how many days before the 15th, but he knows that is where that ’fracture’ came from.”
On Tuesday, when Saad’s attorney requested a possible way for Saad to be released into pretrial custody, Saad said he needed to get out because his fiancee is struggling.
“I didn’t do what I’m charged of,” Saad said. “I have no reason to run and hide.”
He said he was willing to do whatever the judge ordered to get out of jail so he can “continue to help out my fiancee better our lives.”
District Judge Bruce Pickett denied any type of bond reduction or work release but did authorize in-custody work detail “to keep you busy.”
He said any money Saad earns could go toward paying possible fines and fees.
Saad is scheduled to appear in court again on May 22 for a pretrial conference.