SEATTLE -- A Seattle man is behind bars following allegations that he broke a 4-week-old's arm and legs.
King County prosecutors contend 39-year-old Edward E. St. Amant, III, was living with the boy's mother in an Aurora Avenue motel when he throttled the child's left arm so hard a piece of the boy's shoulder blade broke off.
According to charging documents, St. Amant, the boy and his mother arrived at Seattle Children's Hospital on May 19 after the child's mother noticed his arm was red and swollen.
Staff at the hospital quickly determined the boy had a broken arm and shoulder. Further tests showed both the boy's legs had been broken in several places; an older fracture to the month-old child's left leg had already begun to knit.
Interviewed by police, St. Amant allegedly said he heard a "pop" when he picked up the boy. He claimed the boy did not cry so he assumed the child was fine.
A doctor at Children's Hospital who'd examined the boy found the story less than credible, Seattle Police Detective Lauren Givens told the court.
"(The doctor) said the injury to (the boy's) left arm was caused by a definite yank and twist with great force," Givens told the court. "(He) also disputed St. Amant's claim that (the boy) did not cry and was able to move his fingers after the 'pop.'
The boy, the doctor continued, "would have had an immediate pain response to the breaking."
Charged with second-degree assault of a child, St. Amant remains jailed on $500,000.
Bookmarks