Jacob Kubai is accused of beating his daughter known as Strawberry to death at their home in Bartow, Florida. She suffered broken ribs and a skull fracture, cops say. Kubai was arraigned on charges of manslaughter and child abuse. (WESH/YouTube)
A Florida man is accused of “viciously” beating his 4-month-old daughter so bad she suffered 10 broken ribs, a skull fracture and hemorrhaging to her spine.
Bartow police were called around 8:30 p.m. Feb. 22 to Bartow Regional Medical Center for a child in cardiac arrest. Medical personnel in a helicopter flew the girl — who everyone called “Strawberry” — to a hospital in Tampa where she died two days later.
Detectives with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office later learned Strawberry’s father rushed the girl to the hospital after finding her unresponsive. The father, 22-year old Jacob Kubai, told investigators that he and the girl dropped off his wife — Strawberry’s mom — at work at around 5 p.m., Sheriff Grady Judd said Wednesday at a press conference. Kubai said he played video games for a while and later went to Walmart at around 6:40 p.m. to pick up some items for dinner and returned. He claimed he fed the baby, whose real name is Willow, at 7:50 p.m., and checked on her every 10 minutes until 8:10 p.m., when he said he found Strawberry suddenly unresponsive.
Kubai said he administered CPR and then took her to the hospital.
When detectives reviewed the security cameras at Walmart they saw he was there without the baby. Judd said they now believe that he beat Strawberry before leaving for the grocery store.
An autopsy revealed Strawberry’s horrific injuries: a skull fracture, multiple bruises to her forehead, 10 fractured ribs. hemorrhaging to her spine and multiple layers of brain bleed, Judd said. Investigators believe she suffered the broken ribs when Kubai squeezed her. Kubai also is accused of hitting Strawberry in the forehead 10 times and using a hard object to strike her in the back of the head.
“The baby was literally beaten to death,” Judd said.
While Kubai initially cooperated with cops, he later changed his tune.
“He started saying ‘none of this is real,”” Judd said. “‘My wife’s not real. My baby’s not real. This is a fantasy. This just didn’t happen.’ He started immediately playing games with us. He showed zero remorse. He shed not one tear and yet he has literally beaten and squeezed his baby to death at 4 months old.”
Kubai is facing charges of aggravated manslaughter of a child and aggravated child abuse. He’s at the Polk County Jail without bond.
