A New Jersey couple was indicted last week on murder charges for the death of their 3-month-old daughter earlier this year.
A grand jury in Ocean County has indicted Ruben Santiago, 36, and Caitlin Gibson, 28, as announced by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office on Wednesday. More details are available through their official Facebook post.
Authorities received a distress call on May 5 regarding an infant who was struggling to breathe. Police were the first to respond, followed by medical teams who provided immediate care. The child was transported first to University Medical Center in Brick Township and subsequently transferred to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune. Tragically, the infant passed away the following day.
An autopsy revealed the child succumbed to blunt force trauma to the head, classifying the death as a homicide. It also detected seven broken ribs and a fractured wrist, injuries indicating trauma that had started to heal from past abuses, as reported by The Patch.
Dr. Elizabeth Rouse, the Ocean County Medical Examiner, referred to the injuries as “devastating,” suggesting they were inflicted with a force comparable to a serious car accident, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Following the completion of the autopsy in May, both Gibson and Santiago were taken into custody. Gibson chose not to cooperate with the investigation, whereas Santiago offered several accounts regarding the child’s injuries. He claimed the baby was struck by a falling glass bottle on May 5, and also mentioned accidentally dropping her while retrieving her from a bouncer. He suggested that her head might have hit a metal part of the bouncer, or possibly the TV stand.
Gibson and Santiago have been held in the Ocean County jail without bond since their arrests. It’s not clear when they will appear in court.
