A Racine man is charged with first-degree reckless homicide following the death of his three-month-old infant.
Authorities were called to a home within the 1000 block of Park Avenue Tuesday April, 11 for for an infant that was unresponsive and not breathing, according to a criminal complaint by the Racine County District Attorney’s Office.
Josue Santiago Vasquez was the father and the only person caring for the infant. The child was initially taken to Ascension – All Saints Hospital in Racine where medical personnel thought the child was suffering from natural causes. However, when the child was later transferred to Children’s Hospital in Milwaukee, a doctor there alerted investigators to a potentially suspicious nature of the injuries.
The doctor told investigators the child had hemorrhaging in the brain consistent with being shaken or having its head shaken against a soft surface like a mattress.
Police questioned Santiago Vasquez, though the criminal complaint did not indicate what he told them.
He is charged with first degree reckless homicide and is being held on a $100,000 bond. If convicted of the charge, Santiago Vasquez faces up to 60 years in prison.