Police: 2-Month-Old Baby Nearly Died After Abuse From Fayette Co. Man
BULLSKIN TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA) -- A Connellsville man is accused of physically abusing a 2-month-old child so violently that the toddler nearly died.
State police say the incident took place in a home off Quail Hill Road in Bullskin Township in Fayette County. The suspect, Dustin Lilley of Connellsville, is charged with physically abusing the child.
According to investigators, the 28-year-old Lilley was watching his girlfriend's 2-month-old son when the child was abused.
"The boyfriend woke the mom up, claiming the baby was not breathing, believed it was choking on something," said trooper Robert Broadwater. "They did transport to the hospital. While en route to the hospital, the mother was performing CPR on the child."
The baby was eventually moved to UPMC Children's Hospital, where doctors discovered the infant suffered a brain hemorrhage, broken ribs, broken blood vessels in his eyes and bruises all over the body. Police say some of the injuries were not new.
"They were able to detect injuries previously that were healing already," Broadwater said.
When law enforcement questioned Lilley, he claimed the child crawled off a couch and fell.
"These injuries are not matching up with a child falling off the couch," the trooper said.
The baby's mom is not facing charges at this time.
Lilley is in the Fayette County Jail, facing multiple felonies including aggravated assault of a child. The little boy is recovering but faces what doctors say will be a long and difficult recovery.