Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- Eric Johann Feldkircher, 37, faces felony charges accusing him of physically abusing his infant twins.
- Video evidence shows the Draper man violently handling the 7-week-old boys, charges say.
- Doctors say the babies suffered severe injuries, predicting long-term health issues for the twins.
DRAPER — A Draper man is facing felony charges accusing him of abusing his infant twin boys.
Eric Johann Feldkircher, 37, was charged Thursday in 3rd District Court with two counts of aggravated child abuse, a second-degree felony.
Feldkircher was supposed to be caring for his 7-week-old twins but "was seen on video dropping them, shaking them, swinging them by their feet, hitting their heads on objects, and being overall aggressive with them," according to charging documents.
Feldkircher reported that when his children cried, they sounded like cats, which doctors "stated is a sign of brain trauma," the charges state.
The investigation began in September when Feldkircher called the boys' mother saying they were acting abnormally and "that the babies were crying incessantly and were making cat-like noises,'" according to the court documents. The infants were checked by a doctor who immediately referred them to Primary Children's Hospital.
During the course of their investigation, police served a search warrant on the video baby monitors in the house. Detectives found one video in which Feldkircher is seen shaking one of the twins "from side to side while holding him with his hands around the waist, before dropping (him) in the crib one-handed. Feldkircher swings (the boy) around the frame and then drops him from a few inches off the mattress causing (him) to bounce off the mattress," the charges allege.
He later grabs the infant "by the feet and swings him from front to back between his legs then back forward, where it appears (the boy) may have hit the front of his head on an unknown item," the charges state. "He does this three times before laying (the boy) back on the mat."
A doctor "reported that both babies had torn bridging veins, retinal hemorrhaging, and possible spinal injuries. Both babies will suffer with seizures throughout their lives and will possibly have cerebral palsy," according to the charges. The doctor told police the twins would have issues "seeing, walking and eating."
Prosecutors have requested that Feldkircher be held in the Salt Lake County Jail without bail pending trial.
