Inset: Muhire Augustin (Boone County Jail). Background: The Fourth Avenue home in Columbia, Missouri, where Augustin allegedly abused his 3-month-old baby (Google Maps).
A Missouri father allegedly abused his 3-month-old baby, who is not expected to survive, and then claimed he dropped the infant after slipping near a bathtub. Investigators quickly challenged that account after finding the floor dry.
Muhire Augustin, 30, faces charges of child abuse and endangering the welfare of a child, the Columbia Police Department said.
Police went to a hospital Wednesday morning after receiving a report of possible child abuse at a home on Fourth Avenue. The infant’s “probability of survival is extremely low,” authorities said.
According to a probable-cause arrest affidavit, doctors found that the baby had suffered multiple skull fractures, brain bleeds and rib fractures at different stages of healing. Investigators said the child showed signs of “severe” brain damage and may also have had a fractured spine.
The affidavit described the skull injuries as “pretty horrific.” Police said the infant required surgery and was intubated.
During an interview with detectives, Augustin said he was unemployed and caring for the baby while the child’s mother worked. She had returned from maternity leave on Nov. 4, and Augustin watched the infant during her overnight shifts. Detectives said he told them the baby cried frequently and that he struggled to feed the child.
According to police, Augustin said the baby would “generally calm down more easily” when held by the mother. He acknowledged becoming “frustrated” by the crying, investigators wrote.
Augustin said he bathed the child in a round plastic tub on the night of the alleged abuse. About an hour later, he claimed, he was carrying the baby when he slipped on the floor near the tub. He said the infant fell and struck its head on the wooden floor.
The baby then began breathing abnormally, made a wheezing sound and would not open its eyes, according to the affidavit. However, police said Augustin waited about an hour before seeking help and called the child’s mother rather than 911.
The mother told investigators that she hurried home from work and found Augustin holding the unresponsive baby. She then rushed the infant to the hospital.
When asked why he had not called 911, Augustin allegedly said it “didn’t come in my head right at the time that happened.” He later acknowledged that a baby who was not breathing was experiencing an emergency and required a 911 call, police said. Investigators believe up to 90 minutes passed before the child received medical treatment.
Investigators searched the home and quickly questioned Augustin’s account of slipping on bathwater. He said he mopped the floor after the baby was taken to the hospital, but detectives found the floor completely dry and said the mop appeared not to have been used recently.
Police also allegedly found blood on the floor and on Augustin’s shirt. According to the complaint, Augustin told investigators the stains on his shirt were tomato sauce.
Police arrested Augustin and booked him into the Boone County Jail, where he remains held without bond.
The post Dad said calling 911 ‘didn’t come in my head’ after fracturing baby’s skull, claimed blood on shirt was tomato sauce: Cops first appeared on Law & Crime.
