PROVO, Utah, Dec. 20, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — A Provo father was arrested Tuesday morning after police say he broke his infant child’s arm.
Adam Chambers Monroe Eaton was arrested at 11:30 a.m. for investigation of aggravated child abuse — reckless, a third-degree felony.
“Provo detectives were called to the Timpanogos emergency room for a 6-month-old infant with a broken left humerus bone,” says an affidavit filed by an officer of the Provo Police Department.
“The infant was taken to the emergency room by his parents, and the father, Adam Eaton, made statements to emergency room staff that he injured the infant around 04:00 hours by pinning the infant’s arm behind its back while trying to get the infant to go back to sleep.
“Detectives interviewed Adam and he admitted to being frustrated at the infant and using quick abrupt movements while handling the infant. Eaton reportedly “told his wife that he was trying to make their baby hold still and heard a pop and that the infant could no longer use its arm. The infant’s mother told detectives that she lifted her infant’s arm, and when she let go the arm fell limp and the baby was unable to move its arm.”
The attending physician told investigators that “additional scans showed multiple healing rib fractures. I spoke to Adam again and he admitted that he sometimes gets frustrated and will pick his infant up abruptly and not as gently as he should”
Eaton also admitted to shouting at the baby, and trying to force a bottle into the baby’s mouth “when the infant didn’t want to take a bottle. At one point during the interview Adam admitted to picking the infant up and shaking.”
When asked for additional details, Eaton dentied saying he shook the infant, the affidavit says, adding that the interview audio was recorded.
Eaton was ordered to be held without bail in the Utah County Jail, court records say.
