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Police: Missouri Dad Violently Assaulted Newborn In Horrifying Incident

By Chelsea Hoffman
Published on: 04:42 PST, Nov 13, 2016

A Missouri dad has been arrested, and his newborn child may soon die, after an allegedly violent incident that took place sometime last week. The Daily Mail reports that the mother of the helpless baby also witnessed the incident, but she is accused of failing to protect him. There are a lot of shocking details surrounding the alleged assault of the newborn, and authorities say that they don’t expect him to survive.

Authorities say that 19-year-old Robert James Burnette became enraged when his six-week-old newborn son wouldn’t stop crying. His alleged reaction to this common problem with young babies, was to reportedly shove his fingers down the little one’s throat. He reportedly did so because he “wanted to find the baby’s voice box,” to stop the crying.

That’s not all the Missouri dad is accused of doing during the incident. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch says that the infant was also violently shaken by his young father. Police also claim that Robert James Burnette slammed the baby onto a bed.

Doctors say that the newborn infant suffered numerous injuries in association with the incident. The infant also reportedly showed signs of ongoing abuse. The young infant reportedly suffered a broken arm and bleeding on the brain. Doctors also reportedly found evidence of old fractures in various parts of his body, which were in different stages of healing.

Reports say that the mother of the infant allegedly stood by and watched as the young father slammed, shook and assaulted the little one. Police say that Megan Hendricks was also arrested.

This isn’t the first time the violent abuse of a newborn child has made media headlines. Unfortunately, many cases of this nature end in the same way — the deaths of the reported victims. Earlier this year, a 24-year-old Brooklyn Park man was arrested on murder charges, after he reportedly beat a seven-month-old infant to death. The Star Tribune reports that the young man violently assaulted the baby because he found out that he was not the child’s biological father.

Also this year, a Minneapolis man was arrested for punching his four-month-old daughter to death. People reports that 21-year-old Cory Morris punched the little girl at least 15 times because she wouldn’t stop making “baby noises.”

In 2014, a Wisconsin man was charged with killing his 11-month-old daughter. The New York Daily News reports that Russell Lamar Rose Jr. slammed his baby into a stretch of sidewalk numerous times, ending in her horrifying death. Police have referred to the man as a “monster,” while media reports have referred to the alleged crime as “ghastly.”

As for this latest case, authorities have charged the Missouri dad with abuse and neglect of a child causing serious injury. The mother of “Baby Jax,” has been charged similarly for allegedly failing to protect the newborn. Authorities have confirmed that the Missouri dad has admitted to “being too rough,” with the infant. Authorities say that it is “not likely,” that the baby will survive, but he is currently clinging to life in a hospital. As of Friday, he was listed as being in critical condition. If the baby doesn’t survive this horrifying incident, the charges against his parents could be upgraded.

[Featured Image via St. Charles County Sheriff’s Office]

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