KEY POINTS

  • The accused was arrested Tuesday, and charged with murder
  • Autopsy report showed the child had multiple displace ribs and a lacerated liver
  • The suspect said he tossed the child five times out of boredom

A 17-year-old teen dad from Texas was charged with murder for allegedly killing his 3-week-old son because he was angry at the child’s mother for not aborting the baby or putting him up for adoption.

Detectives arrested Caleb Brown on Tuesday in connection with the death of his son, Emerson Ziesmer, on Aug. 9, said Carrollton Police in a statement.

"According to a probable cause affidavit for his arrest warrant, Brown stated that while he was briefly alone with the infant on the afternoon of Aug. 9, he squeezed him and repeatedly threw him into the air, eventually hitting the ceiling fan," the police said in the release.

Brown told the investigators he tossed the child "five times" out of boredom, and after the final toss he gave the infant a final squeeze, which he believes killed the child.

On the day of the incident, the child’s unidentified 17-year-old mother and Brown had taken the infant to an emergency room at a local hospital, KTVT reported. There, she informed the hospital staff her son looked pale and that she had noticed "significant bruising around his abdomen."

The infant was airlifted to the Children’s Medical Center of Dallas where medical personnel tried life-saving procedures on him; however, they could not save Ziesmer. He was later pronounced dead at the facility.

An autopsy conducted on the infant showed he had suffered multiple displaced ribs and had a lacerated liver.

The police affidavit obtained by the Dallas Morning News showed the child’s mother and Brown ended their relationship after learning about the pregnancy. Brown reportedly wanted the pregnancy terminated or the child put up for adoption. The suspect was also concerned about having to pay child support.

Investigators also uncovered videos during their investigation, where Brown could be seen showing the infant his middle finger. He reportedly called the infant a "little dumb baby" and "ugly."

The child’s mother told the investigators a few days after the child was born, she had heard the infant screaming and when she turned to investigate, she saw Brown squeezing him around his stomach. After she intervened, Brown left the room.

Brown is held in the Denton County Jail on a bond of $2 million.

Newborn
Representational image. Pixabay/ramosiquitos
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