Pandabear
01-19-2009, 05:40 AM
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/henry/stories/2009/01/18/abuse_henry_baby.html?cxntlid=homepage_tab_newstab&imw=Y
Dad arrested, mom in shock over baby’s death
When the spot of blood appeared Monday on the left eye of her infant daughter, Valerie Kelley thought it was a genetic trait shared by her father.
But when the other eye developed the same blood spot, it was uncomfortably similar to head trauma injuries she’d seen in boxers when she managed fighters in Las Vegas.
She took 3-month-old Aliyah Caesar to a doctor in Stockbridge on Wednesday. He told her the baby probably just scratched herself, and sent mother and child home.
On Friday, Aliyah was dead of shaken baby syndrome and internal injuries. An autopsy showed she had broken ribs and a punctured liver, Kelley said.
Now, the child’s father and Kelley’s boyfriend, Ron Courtney Caesar, 28, is in Henry County Jail. He is charged with murder and cruelty to children.
“I’m in shock,” Kelley said in an interview Sunday night in her Stockbridge home. “He was never short with the kids, except he had one spat with my 16-year-old son. I’ve never seen violence.”
Kelley said her boyfriend served in Iraq from 2005 to 2006, and was jumpy and at times a little paranoid. He told her he had blackouts. She said she laughed and reassured him that he was home and could relax.
She met Ron Caesar in New York, where they both are from. He struck up a conversation with her on a chance meeting on the street. They hit it off. When she returned to Las Vegas, they stayed in touch. “We were soulmates,” she said.
He moved to metro-Atlanta in May 2006 to care for his parents. She followed in July 2007 with her five children. Then she had two children with Caesar; Aliyah was born in October.
She said her boyfriend found work as a press operator in McDonough in December 2007, but quit after eight months because he was working 12 hours a day.
He was depressed and drinking more heavily lately, she said, because he hadn’t found work. He had just enrolled at University of Phoenix to study criminal justice. He shared residences with her and his parents.
On Thursday morning, she left Aliyah with Ron Caesar while she went to the store. That day, Aliyah didn’t show any signs of trauma.
That night, though, the baby started having trouble breathing. The next morning, she died at Henry County Medical Center. By Friday night, police had arrested and charged Aliyah’s father.
“It never crossed my mind he would hurt her,” Kelley said. “He was her biological parent. Why would I not trust him? I’m not saying I’m with him. I just want to know the facts. I need him to tell the truth.”
Dad arrested, mom in shock over baby’s death
When the spot of blood appeared Monday on the left eye of her infant daughter, Valerie Kelley thought it was a genetic trait shared by her father.
But when the other eye developed the same blood spot, it was uncomfortably similar to head trauma injuries she’d seen in boxers when she managed fighters in Las Vegas.
She took 3-month-old Aliyah Caesar to a doctor in Stockbridge on Wednesday. He told her the baby probably just scratched herself, and sent mother and child home.
On Friday, Aliyah was dead of shaken baby syndrome and internal injuries. An autopsy showed she had broken ribs and a punctured liver, Kelley said.
Now, the child’s father and Kelley’s boyfriend, Ron Courtney Caesar, 28, is in Henry County Jail. He is charged with murder and cruelty to children.
“I’m in shock,” Kelley said in an interview Sunday night in her Stockbridge home. “He was never short with the kids, except he had one spat with my 16-year-old son. I’ve never seen violence.”
Kelley said her boyfriend served in Iraq from 2005 to 2006, and was jumpy and at times a little paranoid. He told her he had blackouts. She said she laughed and reassured him that he was home and could relax.
She met Ron Caesar in New York, where they both are from. He struck up a conversation with her on a chance meeting on the street. They hit it off. When she returned to Las Vegas, they stayed in touch. “We were soulmates,” she said.
He moved to metro-Atlanta in May 2006 to care for his parents. She followed in July 2007 with her five children. Then she had two children with Caesar; Aliyah was born in October.
She said her boyfriend found work as a press operator in McDonough in December 2007, but quit after eight months because he was working 12 hours a day.
He was depressed and drinking more heavily lately, she said, because he hadn’t found work. He had just enrolled at University of Phoenix to study criminal justice. He shared residences with her and his parents.
On Thursday morning, she left Aliyah with Ron Caesar while she went to the store. That day, Aliyah didn’t show any signs of trauma.
That night, though, the baby started having trouble breathing. The next morning, she died at Henry County Medical Center. By Friday night, police had arrested and charged Aliyah’s father.
“It never crossed my mind he would hurt her,” Kelley said. “He was her biological parent. Why would I not trust him? I’m not saying I’m with him. I just want to know the facts. I need him to tell the truth.”