Robert Burnette
A baby died after his father inserted his fingers into his throat in an attempt to locate his vocal cords and stop him from crying as his mother watched.
Robert Burnette, age 21, shook Jaxon, aged six weeks, and flung him face-down onto a bed before seizing the infant by the nape of his neck.
The youngster, who was transported to the hospital with broken bones, liver injuries, and a brain bleed, was declared dead at the end of November 2016 following several weeks in intensive care.
The Inside Story
Officials report that six-week-old Jaxon Burnette sustained multiple injuries during his short life, including shattered bones, potential liver contusions, and intracranial bleeding. He also had new and old fractures on his clavicle and other fractures in various states of healing on his ribs.
The abuse allegedly occurred between October 18 and November 7, 2016, at the residence of Burnette in Wentzville, Missouri, and his 21-year-old girlfriend, Megan Hendricks. Authorities reported at the time that the young father aggressively shook and slammed Jaxon’s face into a bed while holding him there.
He also allegedly placed his fingers into Jaxon’s throat in an attempt to locate his larynx in order to stop him from screaming, while the boy’s mother apparently did nothing. The attack was also seen by a roommate.
Burnette reportedly admitted in a police interview to being “too rough” with the infant and shaking him. Detective Sean Rosner of the Wentzville Police Department told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that Hendricks reported seeing Burnette beat her baby three times, including shaking and putting his fingers in the infant’s mouth.
A rally outside the St. Charles County Courthouse called for “Justice for Jax,” after the parents were charged, the paper reported.
“When I first heard about this story, it broke my heart,” Holly Culver, who stood outside the county courthouse during a 2016 vigil, told the Post-Dispatch. “I never could imagine someone doing this to a child.
Culver held up a sign that read, “We are … his voice,” to bring awareness to child abuse.
She stated that she and Burnette were compelled to view a film about the dangers of shaking a baby before leaving the hospital with their newborn boy. Hendricks admitted that she lied to doctors about the cause of her son’s injury.
According to authorities, she exhibited no emotion during interrogation and referred to the newborn as “the kid” or “the baby” rather than by name.
According to witnesses, she even faked to cry at one point but stopped as the officer left the room. Hendricks acknowledged that she was aware that her child was in risk. She said that she had brought the child to her parents’ house, but never asked them for assistance.
Credits: DailyMail