Unemployed dad ‘was sorry’ after lying about beating 6-week-old son to death while mom was at the grocery store: Police

A 19-year-old dad in Arizona has been accused of killing his 6-week-old child, allegedly beating the infant to death with multiple strikes to the head. Arnold Barney was taken into custody this week and charged with one count of first-degree murder and one count of child abuse, records show.

Officers with the Mesa Police Department and emergency medical personnel at about 8:30 p.m. on Monday, July 28, responded to an apartment complex in the 1000 block of South Longmore, about 18 miles east of Phoenix, local CBS affiliate KTVK reported. Upon arriving at the address, authorities reportedly found the baby in “respiratory distress” and immediately transported him to a hospital for treatment.

Unfortunately, the child succumbed to his injuries — which included a series of bruises, internal injuries, and a brain bleed — and was pronounced dead early the following morning.

Court documents obtained by the station provided additional details regarding the circumstances of the infant’s death and Barney’s arrest.

According to the report, the mother told police she left her son with Barney at about 7:30 p.m. to go grocery shopping. When she returned home, the child was reportedly still on the bed, but had noticeable bruising on his face and appeared to be struggling to breathe. Barney allegedly refused to answer questions about what had happened as the mother called 911.

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The victim’s mother reportedly told investigators that she often became upset with Barney because he was unemployed and barely helped with the baby and the couple’s other child, choosing instead to spend his time playing video games and watching videos on his tablet. She reportedly noted that when she would confront him about his lack of parental contribution, he would often get mad and punch holes in their walls.

Police soon placed Barney under arrest, and after being read his Miranda rights, he agreed to an interview and confirmed that he was alone with the child while the mother was at the store, Phoenix Fox affiliate KSAZ reported.

“[Barney] advised he had woken up from a nap on the couch when alerted to the infant’s crying. [Barney] stated the child had been cradled in his arms without his knowledge, and had rolled off onto the floor face first,” a probable cause affidavit reportedly said. “[Barney] then admitted this was not true, and he had in fact struck the infant with two open-handed slaps to the face.”

The accused killer went on to change his story again, allegedly confessing that he struck the infant in the head and face about six times because the baby would not stop crying.

“[Barney] stated that after injuring the infant, he swaddled the infant and propped a bottle up for him to feed on,” police reportedly wrote. “[Barney] then returned to the couch in the living room until the infant’s mother returned home.”

The document reportedly states that Barney “expressed regret for his actions” as he “understood that they were wrong,” before telling detectives that he “wished to tell the infant’s mother that he was sorry for killing the child.”

After being processed at the Mesa County Jail, a judge ordered him to be held in lieu of $1 million bond. He is currently scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on Aug. 7, records show.

The post Unemployed dad ‘was sorry’ after lying about beating 6-week-old son to death while mom was at the grocery store: Police first appeared on Law & Crime.