On Thursday, July 2, 2015, Lee County Sheriff’s Office Special Victims Unit Detectives arrested a Lehigh Acres man responsible for shaking an infant that caused serious brain damage and charged him with Aggravated Child Abuse.
According to the investigation, the female infant was transported by EMS to a local hospital on June 21, 2015 for spontaneously stopping breathing and having seizures. While there, doctors reported to authorities that injuries were consistent with shaken baby syndrome. Following testing, medical staff determined the child was suffering from bleeding of the brain; the decision was made to air-lift the child to Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami for care. In the doctor’s opinion, “the baby was shaken or a combination of being shaken and having suffered a blunt impact to the skull.”
The investigation revealed that Louis Lee Murph Jr. (DOB 01/28/92) walked into the house, where the infant was supposed to be sleeping, and instead heard the infant crying. He went into the bedroom and attempted to console her. He held the baby and shook her up and down in a vertical and horizontal motion. She continued to cry and then started seizing. Murph then brought the infant outside to her mother.
The infant suffered from bleeding in the subdural and subarachnoid spaces, as well as the hemorrhages behind both eyes and an occipital fracture. The infant was released from the hospital last night and is in the care of her grandparents.
Arrested: Louis Murph (DOB 01-28-92) of 5900 Paula Avenue, Lehigh Acres, charged with Aggravated Child Abuse.