Courtney J. Lindsey could not get girlfriend Amber Pittsley’s baby to stop crying.
The 20-year-old Joplin man later told police that he tried to bottle-feed 7-month-old Adriana Bowers, but she just kept screaming and getting more agitated.
Finally, he’d had enough, and he grabbed her with both hands and shook her in a desperate, exasperated effort to quiet her. He shook the infant until she threw up and lapsed into unresponsiveness, he told police.
Then, becoming concerned about what he had done, he called for an ambulance at 8:39 a.m. Tuesday. The girl was rushed from their home at 1606 S. Kentucky Ave. to Freeman Hospital West, where a doctor confirmed that she had suffered a life-threatening brain bleed.
The girl was flown to Children’s Mercy Hospitals and Clinics in Kansas City, where she was listed as being in stable condition Wednesday.
Lindsey, who was taken into custody before the end of the day on Tuesday, was charged about noon Wednesday with first-degree assault.
Police said Lindsey is not the girl’s father, but he has been living with her mother at the address on Kentucky Avenue. A probable-cause affidavit filed with the assault charge states that he was the lone adult present in the home when the baby was injured. Police have not said where the mother was at the time, and the Globe was unable to reach her for comment on Wednesday.
According to both the affidavit and a news release from the Joplin Police Department, the treating physician at Freeman told investigators that the girl suffered a subdural hematoma that appeared to be the result of “non-accidental trauma” that was consistent with having been shaken. The doctor also termed the injury life-threatening, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit indicates that Lindsey provided police with an account of how he shook the baby. The document states that he termed the manner in which he shook her as “hard,” and said she then vomited and turned unresponsive.
The case marks the second reported shaken-baby incident in Joplin this year.
Samantha L. Dechert, 23, was arrested in February and charged with first-degree assault after an investigation of an injury to her 3-month-old son, William E. Bustamante. Dechert took the boy to Freeman Hospital West on Feb. 14 for reported seizures but left against medical advice before seeing a physician.
The baby was taken the next day to Mercy Hospital Joplin and was flown to Cox Medical Center South in Springfield with what doctors diagnosed as a brain bleed. The mother initially said that she had fallen while carrying the boy, but she later admitted to a Joplin police detective that she had shaken him, according to a probable-cause affidavit filed in Jasper County Circuit Court.
Bond amounts
COURTNEY LINDSEY remained in custody Wednesday night at the Jasper County Jail in Carthage on a $25,000 surety bond and a $5,000 cash bond. He also was being held on a warrant for failure to appear in court on a previous felony count of tampering with a motor vehicle.
Crime & Courts
Shaken-baby case leads to arrest of Joplin man
Infant flown to Kansas City with life-threatening injury
- Crime & Courts
-
-
State’s key witness testifies in murder trial
The fate of Dustin Boggs may ultimately depend on the credibility of Arturo Council. If jurors believe Council, then Boggs, 25, could be convicted of first-degree murder in the 2012 stabbing and shooting death of his ex-girlfriend, Danyel Borden, 21, at his trial this week in Ottawa County District Court.
-
Witness describes death of Danyel Borden in second day of murder trial for Dustin Boggs
Arturo Council described for a jury today how Dustin Boggs attacked and killed Danyel Borden a year ago on an Ottawa County road.
-
Police warning of men posing as utility workers
The Joplin Police Department issued a warning Monday regarding reports of one or more impostors showing up at the doors of elderly residents and pretending to be Empire District Electric Co. employees checking on circuit breaker boxes.
-
New Mexico man draws prison term in Joplin child-rape case
A 59-year-old man was sentenced to 15 years in prison Monday after pleading guilty to sexual abuse of a developmentally disabled 8-year-old girl in Joplin. Robert L. Newton pleaded guilty in Jasper County Circuit Court to first-degree statutory rape, first-degree statutory sodomy and felony failure to appear in court in a plea agreement with the prosecutor’s office.
-
Alcohol, speed suspected factors in fatal crash Saturday
The driver in a double-fatality accident Saturday in Joplin is suspected of having been intoxicated and speeding at almost twice the posted limit. He may also have been attempting a trick-driving maneuver, according to a probable-cause affidavit.
-
Former disaster relief worker, others indicted for fraud following Joplin tornado
A federal grand jury has indicted a former employee of the Economic Security Corp. in Joplin, her boyfriend and a third alleged conspirator in connection with the defrauding of the government via tornado relief funds. A sealed, three-count indictment was returned June 11 in U.S. District Court in Springfield against Herlana L. Latham, 31, and Christopher L. Smith, 36, both of Memphis, Tenn., and John L. Williams, 30, of Cairo, Ill. T
-
Wounded driver in police shooting charged
A suspect accused of trying to run down two Joplin police officers with a sport utility vehicle early Sunday was winged in an arm and hand when the officers shot at him in response, police said. Brandon J. Knoderer, 32, underwent surgery Monday at a Joplin hospital to remove bullet fragments from his right arm and left hand.
-
Crash in Joplin claims two lives; charges being sought on driver
Two people were killed and a third occupant injured in a single-vehicle crash early today in Joplin, resulting in manslaughter charges being sought against the driver.
-
Two area men die as result of crash injuries
A Lamar man died of injuries sustained in a single-vehicle accident at 10:05 p.m. Thursday on Route T, four miles southeast of Lamar in Barton County, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
-
Judge orders trial for infant’s mother; woman faces manslaughter charge
A judge has ruled that an Arma woman should be tried on a charge of involuntary manslaughter, and not murder, in the death of her 4-month-old baby. District Judge A.J. Wachter ordered Heather L. Buckalew, 25, bound over for trial on the manslaughter charge at the conclusion of a hearing this week in Crawford County District Court in Pittsburg.
- More Crime & Courts Headlines
-
State’s key witness testifies in murder trial
Raw: Baby White Rhino Debuts at Australian Zoo
Time Lapse: Rebuilding Bridge Post-collapse
Ohio Woman Accuses 3 of Holding Her Captive
Hunt for Ex-Teamster Boss Hoffa's Remains Ends
Aug. Trial Set for Ohio Man in Triple Kidnapping
Car Crash in NYC's East Village Injures 8
Obama Renews Call for Nuclear Reductions
Raw: Car Jumps Curb in NYC, Injures 8
Unusual Heat Wave Bakes Alaska
Raw: German President Welcomes President Obama
Raw: Arizona Wildfire Scorches 8 Square Miles
Raw: Huge Fire Near Yosemite National Park
Kid Couture: Spending Big Bucks on Babies
