An Alamosa County man in the death of his 5-month-old daughter told authorities that her severe head injuries happened when the infant slipped out of his hands and fell onto a carpeted floor, an arrest warrant shows.
But medical personnel said the baby’s extreme condition, including a very large skull fracture and massive head injury, could not have been caused from such an incident.
The man, 20-year-old Perry Hotz, was taken into custody on Oct. 13, according to the county sheriff’s office. His daughter, whose name has not been released, was injured on Oct. 8 and died on Oct. 11.
According to an arrest warrant for Hotz reviewed Thursday by The Denver Post, he said he brought the infant to Rio Grande Hospital in the town of Del Norte on Oct. 8 after she “slipped out of his hands” and fell less than three feet onto a carpeted floor.
He took her to the hospital because she was “whimpering and the right side of her head was swollen,” the affidavit quoted Hotz’s description to investigators.
The baby was then flown to Colorado Children’s Hospital in Aurora where she went into cardiac arrest and was resuscitated. She later died.
When questioned, authorities say Hotz said his daughter had actually fallen for more than three feet before ceasing to talk about the case and telling an investigator “I am the primary suspect I was the last one with her,” the affidavit says.
Hotz is being held at the Alamosa County jail in lieu of $500,000 bail. He is due in court Dec. 19 for a preliminary hearing.
