Inset: William Page (Outagamie County Jail). Background: The street in Wisconsin where Page lived with the victim (Google Maps).
A 35-year-old father from Wisconsin is accused of severely abusing his newborn son, allegedly breaking both of the 6-week-old’s femurs and fracturing seven of his ribs, among other critical injuries.
William Paul Page was detained on Monday and faces charges of physical abuse of a child by repeated acts intentionally causing significant bodily harm and one count of strangulation or suffocation, according to court records reviewed by Law&Crime. Page appeared Thursday afternoon before Outagamie County Circuit Judge Brian G. Figy, who decided he should stay in pretrial detention with a $100,000 cash-only bond.
The investigation into Page started when the newborn’s mother took the child on Sept. 29 to a local hospital for treatment due to injuries to his mouth, as reported by Green Bay Fox affiliate WLUK, referencing the criminal complaint. The mother also told medical staff that she had seen Page physically abuse the baby about a week earlier during an “angry outburst,” allegedly hitting him in the chest.
In a police interview, Page talked about his anger issues, mentioning that he had previously “punched walls, hit doors, slammed doors, [and] hit the bedside table” when upset. He also reportedly admitted to using a specific wall in the house to express his anger, stating, “I kind of beat at it to release anger.”
When asked if his son’s colic had any effect on his anger, Page allegedly said it had exacerbated his “emotional outbursts.”
“Yeah, for me like it gets to the point, like, like I was talking to my pediatrician, like … my physician, where like my anger, you know, for typically like it just builds, builds, builds, builds,” the affidavit states. “But lately with the colic, which is him crying constantly and so high pitched it seems like my anger will just like, all of a sudden just like snap…it’ll be there and snap which is obviously why I want to get back on medication.”
Page also allegedly admitted to “slapping” the infant at least once and regularly holding the boy so tightly that he would become “limp” in his arms.
“Bill [Page] stated he held Victim 1 tightly against him and he went limp and was crying on Saturday,” the affidavit states. “[Police] asked Bill [Page] how many times he held Victim 1 to his chest so tightly to the point where there would be less crying and his body would go limp, and Bill [Page] indicated ‘maybe once every four or five times.'”
When asked if his actions could have led to his son’s death, Page reportedly responded such an outcome was “possible,” but claimed he was “not meaning to” kill his son.
“Yes, it could have happened, yeah,” he allegedly told police.
“[Police] advised Bill he would be taken into custody for physical abuse of a child and Bill stated, ‘I don’t know why this is considered abuse…this isn’t intentional,'” the affidavit reportedly says.
Other injuries suffered by the victim included a clavicle fracture, chest contusion, and hemorrhages to the eyes.
Prosecutors reiterated the severity of the child’s condition when seeking the high cash-only bond.
“Again, this baby is 6 weeks old. He has significant, significant injuries,” Outagamie County District Attorney Melinda Tempelis said during Thursday’s hearing, footage of which was posted by WLUK. “We are lucky this is not a homicide.”
Page remained housed in the Outagamie County Jail as of Friday morning and is currently scheduled to appear in court again for a status conference on Oct. 23, records show.
