The father of a one-month old baby was taken into custody after police say he bit off his son’s nose.
Jail records show that 18-year-old Joshua Cooper from California was arrested Thursday, March 13, 2014 for aggravated mayhem and child cruelty. For both charges, his bail was set at $765,000.
KXTV reported that on Thursday morning police received a call from a frantic woman saying the baby’s nose was bleeding. Police arrived to what they call “a fairly gruesome scene.”
“The investigation revealed the father bit the child’s nose off while he was crying and he was frustrated he was not able to ease the child’s crying,” said Sgt. Troy Oviatt.
According to the report, police found the baby’s nose on the floor of the bedroom. The baby was taken to an area hospital suffering from a skull fracture and a brain hemorrhage in addition to his partially bitten-off nose. The baby was in stable condition.
Shocked neighbors said Cooper was a “very proud young father” who was on the right track.
Police said other family members were home at the time of the incident, including the baby’s 17-year-old mother, but Cooper was alone in the room with his son.