Mesa Father Arrested After Fatally Punching Infant for ‘Crying Too Much,’ Then Telling Cops a Different Story

A Mesa father has been arrested over the death of his infant daughter who was found with “catastrophic injuries” nearly two weeks ago.

Mesa police arrested 22-year-old Jonathan Enriquez on Wednesday and booked him into the Maricopa County jail on accusations of first-degree murder and felony child abuse, as reported by AZFamily.

According to court documents obtained by the outlet, on July 11, authorities said they responded to reports of an unresponsive baby at an apartment near University Drive and Gilbert Road. When officers arrived on the scene, they found that the infant in critical condition and rushed the child to the hospital.

Parents Told Cops the Baby Fell Off the Bed, Then Said the Child Choked Before Changing Their Story to Claim She Fell Off Her Car Seat and was Hit by a Buckle

At the scene, police noted inconsistencies about what happened from both parents. They claimed that the baby had fallen off the bed, and Enriquez admitted that he had been “quite forceful” while changing her diaper, telling detectives she would hit herself in the face. In that case, he said he admitted “frustration,” but denied hitting the girl.

Investigators were also initially told that the baby choked while being fed a bottle. Enriquez then told two other stories to authorities, first claiming that the baby fell out of a car seat and into a stroller, hitting her head at least once. He then claimed that the baby was hit by a seat buckle, causing bruising around her eyes.

Enriquez Texted the Child’s Mother Saying He Had ‘Messed Up’

Investigators later learned that Enriquez had texted the mother who had left for work, telling her she had to come home right away, saying the baby wasn’t breathing and he “messed up.”

At the hospital, doctors noted that she had a fractured skull, brain bleeding, and bruising around her eyes as well as a broken leg and rib bones, according to arresting documents. She remained hospitalized for 15 days until she died on July 26.

Autopsy Found Injuries to be Consistent with ‘Slamming, Crushing or Stomping’

Court paperwork noted that an autopsy revealed injuries that appeared to be the result of “slamming, crushing, or stomping,” and described the severity of many of those injuries as “catastrophic.”

On Wednesday, Mesa police interviewed Enriquez again, where he reportedly admitted to hitting the baby on the left side of her head because she had been “crying too much” while she was in her bassinette. During that interview, he allegedly also admitted to swaddling her tightly to get her to stop crying.

Court documents say Enriquez expressed “deep remorse” for his actions and said he was ashamed of himself. He is being held on a $1 million bond.