It's unimaginable for a father to hurt his own child. For this dad however, he repeatedly punched his 3-month-old child until the baby died.
He punched the baby because he won't stop crying
Antoine Petty, 32, confessed to punching his infant son until he died. Petty, along with his wife Geneice Petty, 24, then buried the baby and kept his death a secret.
The baby's grandmother had reported her daughter and her grandson as missing. Eventually, police found the child's parents and held them for questioning.
Petty had shared that he punched his child because he won't stop crying. He allegedly took the child to the balcony of their home, and kept punching him in the torso so that he would quiet down. He then took the baby back inside, and continued punching the child until blood began to flow from the infant's nose and mouth, then the child fell silent.
The child was buried in the woods
The couple then placed the infant's dead body inside their car for over 24 hours before burying the child in the woods behind a local high school. They kept the child's death a secret for weeks until they were arrested by police detectives. The pair brought the detectives to the spot where the child was buried.
Antoine Petty has been charged with first and second-degree murder and his wife, Geneice Petty, has been charged with being an accessory to the child's murder.
The child's father has been previously charged with other crimes
Lt. Dave Coleman, a police spokesman, commented that “It’s heartbreaking, and it’s horrifying. Everyone who sees this is so sad for the child and everyone involved.”
The child's father has been previously charged with a number of other crimes, including theft and assault, and he reportedly has a record going back as far as 2002.
He has also been featured in the local police's 'Wanted Wednesday' blog, wherein the post included a mugshot of him and his extensive facial tattoos.
Go to the next page to learn more about how to keep calm when your baby is crying!
Keeping calm while your baby is crying
Having a baby is an amazing experience, but sometimes it can get frustrating, usually if your child won't stop crying. Here are some tips that you should keep in mind:
- In most cases, a baby cries if he or she needs to be burped, fed, or changed. It can also be the case that they need a nap, or perhaps some of your attention. Make sure to check for these first.
- You can also hold your baby close to you and sing or talk to then softly to calm them down.
- It's totally fine to get frustrated if your child cries. However, you need to understand why your child is crying and that you should not get angry at your child.
- Have a few minutes of quiet time. You can try setting your crying baby down in the crib, make sure that they're safe, and then you can go to an adjacent room and have a few minutes of time for yourself to calm down.
- Don't be afraid to ask for help. You can always ask your partner or a family member to take care of your baby while you take some time off. If someone offers to babysit your child, it's a great opportunity to relax or take a well-deserved nap.
- Cut yourself some slack. You can't always stop your baby from crying, sometimes babies just need to have a good cry before they calm down. Don't beat yourself up just because you can't calm your baby, it's totally normal.
Sources: washingtonpost.com, nbcwashington.com
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