Marlon Rabanales-Pretzantzin was charged with second-degree murder in a Long Island court on Thursday. Authorities said he had acknowledged hurting the child.
Marlon Rabanales-Pretzantzin was charged with second-degree murder in a Long Island court on Thursday. Authorities said he had acknowledged hurting the child.
Marlon Rabanales-Pretzantzin was charged with second-degree murder in a Long Island court on Thursday. Authorities said he had acknowledged hurting the child.
A Long Island man has been accused of killing his infant daughter, the Nassau County police said on Thursday.
The man, Marlon Rabanales-Pretzantzin, 20, was charged with second-degree murder during an arraignment in Nassau County District Court. He pleaded not guilty, and could face life in prison if convicted.
The girl, Liseyda Rabanales-Barrios, was 2 months old when she died, the police said. Emergency medical workers arrived at a home in Inwood, on Long Island, on March 7 after an emergency call about an infant choking.
At a news conference, Stephen Fitzpatrick, a detective captain with the Nassau County Police Department, told reporters that Mr. Rabanales-Pretzantzin was accused of having thrown his daughter and hitting her several times around her head. Her injuries included internal bleeding and fractures to her spine and ribs, the officer said.
The criminal complaint filed by prosecutors accuses Mr. Rabanales-Pretzantzin of slapping Liseyda, punching her stomach, shaking her and pressing his weight against her chest with his fist.
Liseyda was taken to a hospital, then transferred to another where she was pronounced at about 4:30 p.m. on March 7.
Detective Captain Fitzpatrick said that the baby’s parents had initially told investigators that she had been hurt after rolling off the bed. But a medical examiner concluded that her injuries indicated something else.
On Wednesday night, Mr. Rabanales-Pretzantzin admitted to the police that he had hurt the baby because “he felt the child wasn’t his” and because “he did not respect or want that child,” according to Detective Captain Fitzpatrick.
The infant also had older injuries to her ribs that appeared to have been healing, the authorities said.
“The amount of times he has done this to the child is still unknown,” Detective Captain Fitzpatrick said.
A lawyer for Mr. Rabanales-Pretzantzin, Mindy Plotkin, could not immediately be reached for comment.
Mr. Rabanales-Pretzantzin and Liseyda lived in a second-floor apartment on Maple Road in Inwood with Liseyda’s mother, also 20, and a 1-year-old boy. The boy was removed voluntarily from the home by his mother on March 10, the police said. He has been medically examined and it is not yet clear whether he has been abused. The mother is not currently suspected of wrongdoing, the police said.
Liseyda was born on Jan. 1, and was among the first babies born in the area this year, according to Detective Scott Skrynecki, a spokesman for the Nassau County police.
Mr. Rabanales-Pretzantzin had not been arrested before, and there are no reports of domestic violence connected to the address.
Judge Lisa LoCurto denied bail, and Mr. Rabanales-Pretzantzin was being held in jail.