Man charged after reportedly causing skull fracture to 7-day-old baby
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FIRTH – A local man is behind bars after being accused of injuring a 7-day-old infant and causing her to have a skull fracture.
Kade Michael Jones, 25, was charged Wednesday with felony aggravated battery.
On May 11, a Bingham County Sheriff’s Office detective was contacted by other law enforcement officials who said there was a baby at Community Hospital in Idaho Falls who was suffering from a skull fracture, bruising and swelling.
Due to the baby’s condition, she was flown to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City. Her current condition is unknown.
The detective initially talked to the baby’s doctor in Idaho Falls, who said the parents, Jones, and his wife, told him that “the only thing they could think of that may have caused this injury was their two-year-old daughter kicked (the baby) in the head when she was getting off the couch,” according to the police report.
Court documents indicate the doctor was not convinced a two-year-old kicking her head would have caused this injury.
When the detective arrived at the hospital in Salt Lake City, he spoke with the parents, who reiterated the same story. The detective noticed the baby also had a “larger swollen area on the right side of the skull above the ear.”
According to Jones, he had noticed the swollen area a few days before, but the parents waited to take the baby to the doctor until a regular check-up. The check-up ultimately led to them taking the baby to the hospital.
Jones was later interviewed again and admitted to laying the baby on the floor to change her diaper while she was crying. He told detectives it was “possibly a sensory overload, and he slapped her on the side of her head with his right hand.”
Jones told law enforcement he hit the baby “harder than he wanted to” and that it was out of a second of anger.
He stated he finished changing the baby’s diaper, and the baby was still crying, but he didn’t see any bruising.
A warrant was issued for Jones’ arrest, and he was booked into the Bingham County Jail with a bond of $250,000. He attended an initial appearance on Thursday, where a no-contact order was issued for the victim.
Jones is expected to appear in court again for a preliminary hearing on June 8. He could face up to 15 years in prison and $50,000 in fines if convicted.
Though Jones has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.