Father Charged

Baby Son Went Blind Due to Shaken Baby Syndrome

The 29-year-old man from Wels was brought to the trial from custody(Bild: Markus Schütz)

“I wanted to help the child”—the father’s account, who is on trial in Wels (Upper Austria) for shaking his child, stood in stark contrast to what the medical examiner said. The 29-year-old, who has 13 prior convictions, faces up to 15 years in prison.

“My left leg got caught on the coffee table, and I fell with the child in my arms. Then the child was unconscious, and I shook him to bring him back to consciousness,” the father of three explained in summary at the Wels Regional Court, describing how his infant son’s head injuries were allegedly caused.

“Full-blown shaken baby syndrome”
However, the medical examiner contradicted the account given by the Wels resident—who has 13 prior convictions—and spoke of “full-blown shaken baby syndrome” and blunt force trauma to the baby’s head: “This cannot be explained by a fall.” Rather, the child must have been thrown against something.

And when the father demonstrated how he claimed to have shaken his baby, he showed that he had held the baby’s head in his hand: “That cannot cause shaken baby syndrome,” the medical examiner countered. This is because shaken baby syndrome only occurs when the head is thrown back and forth unsupported and the brain strikes the skull.

Long-term consequences still uncertain
The child suffered severe bleeding and brain injuries, is blind, and has epilepsy. The father, who is in pretrial detention, faces up to 15 years in prison; the trial was adjourned to determine the long-term consequences.