By Mike Hellgren, Bryan Lynn
Click here for updates on this story
BALTIMORE (WJZ) — The parents of a 2-month-old baby are facing child abuse charges after the little girl died Wednesday at Baltimore’s Harbor Hospital.
CBS News Baltimore obtained charging documents detailing multiple skull fractures that were discovered after the mother brought the baby to the hospital.
At a court hearing Friday, an assistant city state’s attorney said the girl’s father blamed “Satan” for his daughter’s injuries, while the mother blamed her 2-year-old son who jumped on the bed, causing the infant to fall.
The disturbing allegations
The deadly case of child abuse unfolded inside the basement of a rowhome on Brooklyn Avenue in the Brooklyn neighborhood earlier this week, according to charging documents.
District Court judges ordered the 21-year-old parents of 2-month-old Aida Mikea Monzon Alvarado held without bail at separate appearances Friday.
Police said the girl’s mother, Katerin Monzon Alvarado, brought her to Harbor Hospital on Wednesday after she became unresponsive. The mother initially told police the baby stopped responding while lying face down in their bed after she was fed.
The prosecution revealed in court the mother told investigators the child was “freezing and in shock” when she decided to take her to the hospital.
Doctors noticed “suspicious” bruising around the infant’s eyes and jawline. They could not revive the child, and she died.
Charging documents reveal a later examination showed “significant head and brain trauma” and “multiple skull fractures” that were not apparent during the initial examination.
The documents state the baby “suffered from significant head and brain trauma” and “sustained frontal lobe hemorrhaging and a subdural hemorrhage.”
WJZ Investigates has learned exclusively the child’s father, Oscar Pineda, told police his daughter was injured “due to a supernatural force or Satan slamming a door on the child.”
The mother blamed her 2-year-old son for the injuries. According to prosecutors, she said he often jumps on the bed, and the baby fell onto the floor.
Both parents later admitted to investigators they noticed the girl’s bruises Sunday, and she began vomiting the next day.
They said they did not seek medical treatment until she was unresponsive on Wednesday.
Neighbors stunned by the news
WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren spoke to several neighbors, including Shelbi Vonhendricks, whose children played with the suspects’ children.
“They’re always down there playing on the steps, playing on the slide,” Vonhendricks said. “What happened to that baby is actually insane to be honest with you. I don’t understand why people hurt their kids. You birthed them. You carried them for nine months, and you can just hurt your kids like that? To me it’s just unacceptable. They deserve punishment, and they should be put behind bars.”
But Vonhendricks said she never saw any red flags herself.
“You never really know who you’re living next door to. You never know. It’s heartbreaking. It’s overwhelming. It’s scary, because you never know if they can do that to their own kids whether they’ll do that to anybody’s kids,” the neighbor said.
A man who told WJZ Investigates he was the dead girl’s maternal grandfather answered the door at the home. He declined to comment.
Two loved ones who showed up at court to support the couple declined to speak to WJZ.
The judge handling the mother’s bail review called the allegations “extremely difficult” to hear and said it was critical to her to protect children, who are “one of our most vulnerable populations.”
She said Katerin Monzon Alvarado was a danger to the community before holding her without bail.
Monzon Alvarado’s public defender argued her client denies all allegations she harmed her child and noted investigators found the home “orderly with no signs of neglect.”
The assistant state’s attorney argued the extent of the girl’s injuries could not have been caused by a single fall from the bed, as the mother alleged.
She said prosecutors may upgrade the charges based on the findings of the medical examiner.
The parents currently face child abuse, assault and reckless endangerment charges that carry a maximum possible sentence of 55 years in prison.
WJZ also learned in court the parents are Guatemalan nationals, and prosecutors argued they pose “an extreme flight risk.”
Court records show the father has been living in the home for a year after moving from Glen Burnie. He works as a plumber. The mother works in a restaurant.
“It’s actually really heartbreaking, because I struggled for a while having kids, and it took me a long time to have kids,” Vonhendricks said. “So, to see a 2-month-old baby being hurt like that, you never know how long that baby was suffering for.”
Both defendants are considered innocent until proven guilty in court.
Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
