A Connecticut man has been arrested for allegedly abusing a month-old baby, state police said Tuesday.
Zachary Beausoleil, 22, of Pomfret is accused of causing “multiple physical injuries to a minor” in an incident that occurred just over a year ago.
According to authorities, on Aug. 4, 2023, a month-old infant was admitted to Day Kimball Hospital, an acute care facility located in the town of Putnam, “due to her not eating for an extended period.”
After doctors examined the child, they found “several critical injuries” including “multiple rib fractures” and “active brain bleeds,” according to an arrest warrant obtained by local CBS affiliate WFSB. The infant was then immediately airlifted to a hospital in Massachusetts, where further examination showed she appeared to have also suffered a laceration to her liver.
Detectives from the state police Eastern District Major Crime Squad were also notified and assumed the investigation.
Later that day, a social worker at the Massachusetts hospital told an investigator the baby had arrived at the emergency room with “injuries consistent with shaking baby syndrome,” which is described by the Centers for Disease and Control as a “severe form of physical child abuse resulting from violently shaking an infant by the shoulders, arms or legs.”
When Beausoleil was interviewed by police, he said that early on Aug. 1, 2023, he woke up to the baby crying. Shortly after picking her up from her crib, Beausoleil said he tripped and fell on top of the child.
He said he “didn’t think his full weight landed on her,” according to the affidavit. After checking the infant, he didn’t see any injuries and “thought she was fine.”
Three days later, when Beausoleil was at work, another adult in the house took the baby to the hospital after she stopped eating and began “acting a little off,” according to the warrant.
A subsequent review of Beausoleil‘s phone revealed web searches for the phrases “fluid-filled bump on baby’s head” and “throwing up green bile” shortly after the incident, police said.
Beausoleil was arrested Monday following a “lengthy” investigation. He’s being held on a $100,000 bond, and was scheduled to appear at Danielson Superior Court later on Tuesday, according to Patch Connecticut.