2-Month-Old Dies in Mother’s Arms After Beaten in Domestic Incident, Police Say

Jaquirion Dancer has been identified as the two-month-old boy who was beaten to death while his mother held him, according to police. In Memory of Jaquerrion Dancer/GoFundMe

A newborn baby has died during a domestic violence incident in Wisconsin while in his mother’s arms, according to police.

The victim 2-month-old Jaquirion Dancer was rushed to the children’s hospital after the incident but later succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday, June 5.

Authorities in Milwaukee responded to a house for a domestic violence incident on Wednesday morning, reported WISN. Officers say the baby and his mother were being beaten by a man who were both known to him. Little Jaquirion sustained life-threatening injuries during the alleged assault, reported Fox 6.

The suspect, who has not been identified, was arrested and placed in custody. Police have declined to say whether he was the baby’s father.

“We do have a suspect in custody for that. It is going to be reviewed at the district attorney’s office in the next coming days,” Steve Caballero, assistant Milwaukee chief of police, told CNN.

Rev. Dan Quakkelaar, a pastor at Friend of Sinners Church who met with the baby’s mother to offer support and comfort, said it was a “horrible thing to happen,” reported Fox 6.

He told WISN that the mother is currently grieving.

“You know, this is her little boy who was born not long ago, a preemie who was fighting and doing well and for her, this is a huge tragedy,” said Quakkelaar, according to the news station.

Jordan Morales, a leader at the church, told Fox 6 that the “familiarity brings what happened really close to home.”

He has set up a GoFundMe page for the mother to help with funeral costs and other expenses. As of June 8, the fundraiser has raised over $1,100 of its $25,000 goal. The fundraiser identifies the child as Jaquerrion Dancer.

Similar Case

In another similar case where a newborn baby had died due to alleged child abuse, a New York father was charged in relation to the death of his 1-month-old son in March.

Christian Rodriguez, 24, has been accused of assaulting his one-month-old son Aiden Rodriguez, which resulted in several fractures to the infant’s skull.

He told authorities that he got angry and threw him on the ground, according to court documents.

Rodriguez was arraigned on March 20 on charges of assault causing injury through the risk of death, reckless assault of a child involving a brain injury, assault causing injury to a person less than 11 years old, and assault causing injury to a person less than 7 years old, reported Fox 8.

According to the criminal complaint, Rodriguez told investigators that he was at the baby’s great-grandmother’s apartment at 10 p.m. on March 18, when the infant started acting fussy.

When Rodriguez got home, which was a few buildings away from the great-grandmother’s home, he told police that he bumped his son’s head against the door. He said, “He only hit his head one time,” according to the complaint.

He later changed his story allegedly telling police that he “accidentally bashed” the baby’s head against the door frame, the complaint said. The baby then started crying and “wouldn’t stop.”

“I got angry and threw Aiden to the ground face first,” he allegedly admitted. “I got frustrated and threw him to the ground.”

When Aiden arrived at Lincoln hospital that evening, he had no pulse and was not breathing. The CAT scan found that he suffered from several fractures in his skull, multiple brain bleeds, bruising to both sides of his head and “a 3-millimeter midline shift of the child’s brain,” reported the news website.

According to the Medical Examiner’s Office, Aiden’s cause of death was ruled a homicide caused by abusive head trauma, reported Fox 8.

Reporting Child Abuse

If you suspect a child is being abused or neglected, contact your local child protective services office or law enforcement agency so officials can investigate and assess the situation.

Most states have a number to call to report abuse or neglect. To find out where to call, consult the State Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Numbers website.

The Childhelp organization can also provide crisis assistance and other counseling and referral services. Contact them at 1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453).

“Every year more than 3.6 million referrals are made to child protection agencies involving more than 6.6 million children (a referral can include multiple children),” according to Childhelp.

NTD reporter Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.