Docs: Dad admitted shaking baby before death

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A 3-month-old died over the weekend, several days after being shaken by his father, Kent County authorities say.

The Kent County Sheriff's Department says the baby, identified as Sebastian Doyle, was injured Wednesday at a home on College Avenue SE south of M-6 in Gaines Township, south of Grand Rapids. At the hospital, doctors said the injuries were the result of "shaken baby syndrome."

Court documents say Sebastian's father, 28-year-old Matthew Doyle, admitted to investigators that he shook the baby on Wednesday morning and also two weeks before that. He was charged Friday with first-degree child abuse.

“His statement was certainly a large part in the evidence that was gathered that would justify a charge,” sheriff's Sgt. Joel Roon said.

On Saturday, Sebastian died in the hospital.

The medical examiner said after a Monday autopsy that the death was caused by a traumatic brain injury and ruled it a homicide.

“Cranial cerebral trauma can be consistent with things such as shaken baby syndrome,” Roon said.

The sheriff's office said it will meet with the prosecutor's office Tuesday to request additional charges.

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