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- A Salt Lake City father, Jacob Beal, was arrested for suspected child abuse.
- His 2-month-old son was hospitalized with brain bleeding and other injuries.
SALT LAKE CITY — A Salt Lake City father has been arrested after his 2-month-old son was taken to the hospital with a brain bleed.
Jacob Beal, 28, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail late Thursday for investigation of aggravated child abuse.
The infant was taken to Primary Children's Hospital on Thursday and was "found to have bleeding on the brain in two places likely caused by lack of oxygen," bruising in several areas, red marks under his chin and neck and "trauma inside the mouth consistent with forceful insertion of an object," according to a police booking affidavit.
Beal lives in the basement of a residence along with the child's mother. Other family members live on the main floor, police stated.
On Thursday, a relative upstairs heard the 2-month-old crying and called down to Beal to have him bring the child up since his mother was at work. Several witnesses stated Beal was obviously frustrated and angered with the child's crying, according to the affidavit.
After the boy fell asleep, he awoke again a second time and "was crying very loudly," the affidavit states. The relative again called down for Beal to bring the boy up. But while the relative was soothing the child, he "began coughing and produced a thick, bloody ball of mucous that she had to help pull out of his mouth," according to the affidavit.
The boy was then taken to the hospital.
When questioned by police, "Jacob stated he may have been too aggressive when placing the pacifier in (the child's) mouth as he was tired and frustrated due to the crying" and then said the other injuries were the result of "him tripping on a baby bathtub and clothing, as he fell to the ground the baby fell to the ground below him and his chest landed on (his) chin," the affidavit states.
Police, however, said that "based on the preliminary findings at the hospital, (the child's) injuries are not consistent with Jacob's version of events."
At the time of Beal's arrest, he had an active warrant issued a year ago by the Board of Pardons and Parole for a parole violation on a previous theft conviction.
