A Denver man has been accused of causing serious bodily injury to his 1-month-old baby girl, who authorities said was shaken by the irate father.
Charged with child abuse by Denver prosecutors is 19-year-old Jerod Melson.
According to a search-warrant affidavit by Detective Thomas Green, paramedics arrived at a house in the 3500 block of Magnolia Street on Aug. 9 after receiving a report that a baby had fallen.
The child was immediately taken to Children’s Hospital, where an examination showed the child had suffered bruising to both sides of the brain, which doctors said couldn’t have been an accident.
According to Green’s affidavit, Melson first said he had left the baby, Jaedyn Melson, on a couch while he left to get the child a bottle.
He claimed the child apparently rolled off the couch and fell to the floor, a distance of less than a foot, the detective said.
Later, during an interview with Detective Curtis Johnson, Melson retracted his original story and said he became angry with the child.
According to court documents, Melson said the baby had been “fussy” when she awoke from a nap. He said he tried to calm the baby down by feeding her a bottle and patting her on the back.
But as she continued to fuss, Melson said he became frustrated, squeezed the child’s arms and then shook her three times, the affidavit said.
Melson said that when he set the baby, down she became limp. He said waited five minutes before taking the baby to her mother and calling 911.
The mother, Sasha Nickerson, 19, told detectives that she had been suffering from allergies and took some medicine before lying down. She said that while she slept, Melson was caring for the child.
In addition to the bruising of the brain, doctors at Children’s Hospital said the baby had bruising on both her arms, marks that appeared to be from fingers, the affidavit said.
A preliminary hearing for Melson is scheduled for Sept. 10.
Staff writer Howard Pankratz can be reached at 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com.
