LOWER EAST SIDE, Manhattan (PIX11) — A man who allegedly killed his infant son in Manhattan was arrested by police, according to officials.
The baby, who was 3 months old, was unconscious, unresponsive and had trauma to his head when he was taken to a hospital Monday morning, authorities said. He was pronounced dead and police were called to the hospital for an investigation.
Police initially identified the child as a girl.
The child’s father, Ceferino Sanchez, was charged after the baby was injured inside his home in the vicinity of Madison and Jackson streets, authorities said. Sanchez, 34, was charged with murder, assault, manslaughter and reckless assault on a child.
When Sanchez took the infant to the hospital Monday, he allegedly told doctors he was feeding the baby the night before. At some point, the baby almost fell out of his arms, so he grabbed the infant hard to break the fall. After a full examination, doctors apparently realized the infant’s injuries were not consistent with what Sanchez claimed, so doctors at the hospital called 911 and he was taken into custody.
Sanchez is no stranger to being implicated in the suspicious death of an infant, sources told PIX11 News. In 2006, police arrested Sanchez in New Jersey for allegedly endangering the welfare of a child in a similar situation. Sanchez was also allegedly feeding that child when something went wrong. Sanchez was released and charges were dropped.
Neighbors at the Vladeck Houses on the Lower East Side said Sanchez moved in just months ago with the baby’s mother and another young child.
