Dad 'squeezed' upset newborn's legs until he heard 'a breaking sound,' fracturing both femurs while mom was in bathroom: Police

A 24-year-old begetter successful Arkansas is accused of severely abusing his 7-week-old son, allegedly "squeezing" the infant's legs until helium heard a "breaking sound" and fracturing some of the infant's femurs.

Ashton Grant Lewis was taken into custody and charged with 1 number of felony second-degree home battery, tribunal records show.

According to a probable origin affidavit filed successful Sebastian County, officers with the Fort Smith Police Department connected Sept. 15 responded to a study of imaginable kid maltreatment astatine a section children's hospital. The victim, who was brought successful by some parents, had suffered a bilateral oblique fracture crossed some femurs, which is fundamentally a azygous interruption that runs crossed the near and close leg.

Lewis allegedly told the aesculapian unit that helium "dropped" the newborn from his arms and the babe landed connected the chamber mattress. But doctors instantly were skeptical of that explanation, saying it was "implausible owed to the magnitude of unit needed to interruption some femurs not being imaginable from a tiny driblet onto a brushed surface."

The victim's parent told investigators she got up successful the mediate of the nighttime and gave the newborn to Lewis truthful she could spell to the bathroom. She said she was gone for astir 4 minutes erstwhile she heard the babe "scream" and she rushed backmost into the room.

Lewis told the parent helium had "accidentally dropped" the unfortunate onto the mattress. The parents monitored the babe and yet decided to instrumentality him to the infirmary owed to "continued symptom and fussiness."

As detectives continued to question Lewis astir what happened, helium allegedly "eventually admitted to them that helium did not driblet the victim" portion the parent was successful the bathroom.

He initially claimed helium was "bouncing the unfortunate connected the bed" with 1 manus connected the child's beforehand and the different connected his back. He allegedly said the wounded happened due to the fact that "the past bounce was peculiarly hard."

Police past confronted Lewis with X-rays of his son's injuries and told him that the actions helium had described would "not make capable unit to interruption some of the victim's legs." Lewis past allegedly admitted to squeezing the baby's legs until they broke due to the fact that the kid was being fussy.

"Lewis stated that portion the unfortunate was laying connected the bed, helium began to compression the victim's thighs successful the mediate of his legs, and that helium squeezed excessively tight," the affidavit states. "When helium was asked why, Lewis stated that helium thought it would calm the victim, who was upset astatine the time. Lewis stated helium did not mean to compression excessively hard but astatine immoderate constituent portion squeezing the victim's legs, helium heard a breaking dependable and past the unfortunate began to shriek and outcry and [the victim's mother] returned to the room."

Doctors confirmed that high-pressure squeezing of the legs was a "plausible mechanism" to make the unit indispensable to interruption some of the victim's femurs.

An apprehension warrant was issued Oct. 7, and Lewis was arrested Oct. 12. He was booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center and released aft posting $25,000 bond. As conditions of his release, Lewis whitethorn not person immoderate interaction with the unfortunate oregon the victim's parent without anterior authorization.

A justice scheduled Lewis' proceedings to statesman March 8, 2027, records show.