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Jesse A. Sartin, an Indiana man, has been arrested and charged after he allegedly shook his girlfriend’s 1-year-old daughter to death.
According to Law & Crime, Sartin was taken into police custody on Friday, August 2. He has since reportedly been charged with “one count of murder and one count of aggravated battery.”
The outlet reports that the 25-year-old is currently being held in Dearborn County Jail. Additionally, PEOPLE notes that he reportedly made his first court appearance on Monday, August 5. At this time, his plea reportedly remains unclear.
Law & Crime reports that on July 24, authorities from the Lawrenceburg Police Department responded to a call from St. Elizabeth Hospital Dearborn. The call alleged that a 21-month-old girl had suffered a “suspicious” head injury.
“Initially, it was reported to medical staff that the little girl was injured in an accident,” Dearborn County Prosecutor Lynn Deddens stated via Facebook. “Following an investigation, it was determined that SARTIN allegedly shook the little girl for about twenty (20) seconds. The 21-month-old child was under the care of SARTIN while the child’s mother was at work.”
Subsequently, the child was transported to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. There, medical officials performed “emergency brain surgery… to relieve brain swelling and pressure inside her skull.”
The outlet adds that doctors reportedly asserted that the child’s brain was so swollen it herniated and “leak[ed] through her ears.”
According to WLWT, Sartin detailed his actions against the child in an interview with police. He reportedly alleged that after giving the infant a bath, she “was being aggressive and flailing her arms, not wanting to get out of the bathtub.”
At that point, he allegedly grabbed her and “shook her for about 20 seconds.”
“Once the bubbles were gone, I drained the water and put her toys away,” Sartin reportedly wrote in a letter to his girlfriend, per Law & Crime. “I tried to pull her out, but she didn’t want to get out. Screaming and swinging her arms. I tried to pull her out but she kept pulling away and I was getting upset. Baby, I’m so upset. I shook her, trying to get her to calm down.”
Per the outlet, the 1-year-old passed away on August 1. WLWT reports that an autopsy revealed the child suffered “swelling to the brain, significant hemorrhages in both eyes, and hemorrhaging in the spinal cord.” PEOPLE adds that the child’s injuries were deemed “consistent with shaken baby syndrome.”
