LAYTON, Utah, Nov. 29, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — A Layton man has been arrested after he allegedly left his infant daughter in critical condition from shaking her.
A probable cause statement from the 2nd District Court of Farmington said Hayden Norman Pierce, 29, is facing a charge of child abuse, a second-degree felony.
On Nov. 21, police were dispatched to the area of 1600 W. 400 South in Layton for a full arrest complaint. Pierce reported that his 3-month-old daughter had stopped breathing. Pierce and his wife performed CPR until medical personnel arrived and assisted in reviving the child. The infant was hospitalized and further medical testing was conducted.
Medical tests revealed that the infant had a large brain bleed, or hematoma, and ruptured blood vessels behind her eye, the statement said. There were no exterior injuries on her person. After consulting with physicians who were caring for the infant, their diagnosis was that the hematoma and internal bleeding were from an “acute act of serious child abuse,” the statement said.
“The medical diagnoses indicated that her injuries were only internal, and medical professionals indicated that the injuries only would have been caused by the child being shaken or thrown aggressively,” the statement said. “There was no indication of blunt force trauma. Medical professionals were willing to testify in a court of law to this diagnosis and said that she had no prior remarkable medical history.”
The statement said that on the evening in question, Pierce was downstairs watching the infant at approximately 6 p.m. while the mother was upstairs with friends having a dinner party. At one point during the dinner, Pierce brought the infant upstairs to show the friends their newborn daughter. She began to get fussy and Hayden took her back downstairs, swaddled her in a blanket and placed her in a “boppy,” a half-moon pillow used to hold infants in place.
“According to witnesses, Hayden came back upstairs to get a binky, then went downstairs once again,” the statement said. “He called for his wife after the infant had defecated on herself downstairs. The mother went downstairs and held the infant for a moment then requested Hayden bring her upstairs for a diaper change, which he did. Hayden noticed that she was pale and stiff and had stopped breathing, which is when emergency services responded. CPR was performed until emergency services took over.”
On Nov. 25, Pierce was further questioned at the police department. He corroborated that he had taken the infant back downstairs after showing his wife’s friends and acknowledged the infant was fussy. He said he went back upstairs to get the binky and returned to find that she was still very fussy.
“Hayden admitted he was frustrated with the infant at this time,” the statement said. “Hayden said he picked the infant up out of the boppy and aggressively shook her two times. Hayden demonstrated that he had shaken her by picking her up in his arms, then rapidly dropping and raising her with limited head support. Hayden said that she began to defecate on her blanket after he shook her, and he called for his wife.”
Pierce said it was soon after this that the infant appeared to stop breathing and went stiff, which is why 911 was called.
“Medical professionals confirmed that the infant’s injuries would have lasting effects and she is still currently being cared for at the hospital,” the statement said
Pierce was booked into jail and a no-contact order was put into place.
