POLK COUNTY, Fla. – A 22-year-old Polk County man faces charges in the death of his infant daughter, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies said a joint investigation was formed between the sheriff’s office and the Bartow Police Department that began on Feb. 22. after a 4-month-old was brought in to Bartow Regional Medical Center with “no brain activity and suspicious physical injuries.”
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According to a news release, the baby was transported by helicopter to Saint Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa, and it was determined that she had a fractured skull, multiple layers of hemorrhaging to the brain, bruises, scratches, and broken ribs.
Deputies said they conducted separate interviews with Bartow residents Jacob Kubai and his wife, but neither was able to explain how the child was injured.
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According to the release, Kubai told a detective that the baby was fine when the two of them were at a local store between 6:40 p.m. and 7:50 p.m. on the day she was taken to the hospital.
Kubai told investigators that after returning home, he fed the baby and then went to check on her at around 8:10 p.m., at which time he discovered she was not breathing.
Deputies said security video from the store was obtained by detectives and showed Kubai at a self-checkout register at 6:54 p.m., but the baby was not seen in the video.
According to the release, when confronted with the inconsistency in his story, Kubai refused to provide any additional information.
The release did not state when the child died, but said an autopsy was performed on Feb. 27, which showed multiple blunt force trauma injuries to the front of the baby’s head, a swollen and hemorrhaged spine, and an acute skull fracture on the back of the head. There were also ten rib fractures in the healing stage.
Deputies said the child’s injuries happened while Kubai’s wife was at work and while he was the sole caregiver of the baby for three hours before being taken to the hospital. It was also learned that on at least two occasions – Jan. 17 and Feb. 22 – he left the baby alone with no caregiver.
“Death investigations can often take many months before they are complete. In this case, the injuries to this beautiful baby girl were so severe that it left no doubt how she was killed. I don’t know how a father could do this to his child, but I do know he should be locked up for as long as the law allows,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said.
In the arrest affidavit, the autopsy conclusion states, “Based on the injuries noted, the skull fracture would have been caused by the caregiver at that time. The cause of death was determined to be blunt force trauma of the head. The manner of death was ruled as a homicide.”
According to the release, Kubai was arrested on March 5 and faces charges of aggravated manslaughter of a child, aggravated child abuse and knowingly abusing a child without bodily harm.
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