A father charged with the death of his 5-week-old son described himself as a "monster" for how he treated the boy, according to court documents.
Robert Smith Sr., 28, was arrested Monday and charged with first-degree murder of Robert Smith Jr., D.C. police said.
About 3:45 p.m. Aug. 4, officers were called to a home in the 3700 block of 9th Street NW, where they found the infant unconscious and unresponsive.
When the child woke his parents that morning, Smith offered to go to him and the mother went back to sleep, she told police. The next time the child woke them, Smith said he needed sleep, so the mother went to the boy, she said. She stayed with the boy for about two hours before returning to sleep, noticing nothing wrong with the child. Since the boy did not finish his bottle, his mother assumed Smith already fed him. Smith said he fed the child half a bottle about 7:30 a.m.
When the mother woke up that afternoon, she noticed the child wasn't breathing, and Smith began CPR. The baby was rushed to an area hospital, where he died.
Late Monday, police announced the medical examiner determined the baby died from multiple blunt force injuries.
Both parents initially denied mistreating the child, but two days later, Smith admitted regularly squeezing the boy to stop him from crying when no one else was around, including the day he died, according to court documents. That morning, he squeezed the child "like you squeeze a roll of toothpaste," he said, and the boy went limp and he appeared groggy.
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The autopsy found rib and spinal fractures suggesting abuse, not a result of CPR, and a wrist fracture, according to court documents.
