Cops: Okla. college student shook 6-week-old son to death

TULSA, Okla. - A college student in Oklahoma has been arrested for child abuse-murder in the death of a 6-week-old baby, reports CBS affiliate KOTV.

Police said 22-year-old Sebastian Aguirre, a senior at the University of Tulsa, shook the child until his eyes rolled back in his head and he became lifeless last Thursday. The baby died the following day, the station reports.

According to reports, officers responded to Aguirre's residence on Sept. 11 after the suspect called emergency medical services from his campus apartment and said his son wasn't breathing. He was watching the boy while the mother was in class at the university.

KOTV reports Aguirre told authorities that his son was fine before his eyes suddenly rolled back and he became limp. The 6-week-old was taken to a Tulsa hospital where doctors were able to establish a heart rhythm, according to an affidavit in the case. However, the child had suffered a severe brain injury and was still unresponsive several hours later.

"Initially, the father stated that the child was being bathed in the shower and went limp," Child Crisis Unit Sergeant Michael Brown told the station. "The child had become limp and its eyes had rolled back in its head which can prove to be consistent with child abuse."

Further examination showed the child's eyes had several retinal hemorrhages that doctors also said could be indicative of child abuse, according to reports.

Detectives interviewed Aguirre at the hospital on Friday, where he admitted to shaking the baby several times because he wouldn't stop crying, the station reports.

The affidavit states the suspect told detectives that he saw the boy's eyes roll back while he was shaking him. He said he then placed the child in cold water in an attempt to wake him.

"Just about any tragedy involving a child is going to be very, very difficult based upon the fact that very few of the victims that are children play any role in their victimization," said Brown.

Police said the baby's mother has been cooperating with police. The couple does not have any other children.