LONGMONT, Colo.—A housing manager who reported visible injuries to an 8-month-old baby may have saved the toddler’s life, police said.
The manager, whom police didn’t identify, also reported hearing the baby’s cries to Boulder County Social Services, said Longmont police Cmdr. Craig Earhart.
“If that didn’t happen, we believe the child would have been killed eventually,” Earhart said.
Jetley Dikkers, the child’s stepfather, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of child abuse. An arrest warrant affidavit stated the baby had injuries that “presented a substantial risk of death,” the Daily Times-Call reported.
Doctors determined the baby had a broken leg, three skull fractures, several broken ribs and multiple bruises, the newspaper reported.
The baby, who was removed from the family’s custody in November, is recovering from his injuries and is in foster care, Earhart said. At the time, the family had been living in transitional housing, where the housing manager noted the abuse, police said.
Dikkers told officers that the baby hurt himself playing with toys and also was hurt when Dikkers had fallen down stairs while carrying the child. Dikkers also said he had dropped the baby while giving him a bath.
The child’s mother, who wasn’t identified, told officers she didn’t believe Dikkers abused the baby.
Dikkers was being held on $50,000 bond at Boulder County Jail. He was to appear in court Tuesday.
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Information from: Daily Times-Call,
