Pa. man charged with biting, killing infant daughter

[London Lass]

Pa. man charged with biting, killing infant daughter
LEBANON, Pa. (AP) - An infant girl was bitten repeatedly by her father, burned with bath water and suffered an untreated head injury before she died, police said.

Homicide charges were filed Wednesday against Kevin Clayton Mitchell Jr., 20, of Lebanon, who detectives said admitted he bit his daughter Zariyah ‘‘excessively.’’

‘‘Mitchell stated, ’I am sorry and I did not mean to take the first born child of the baby’s mother and whatever goes on now, whatever you find on her, was done by me,’’’ according to an arrest affidavit.

Full article: http://www.muncyluminary.com/oniWire/oniWireDetails.asp?articleID=49572&category=News

[Roamer]

"The firstborn child of the baby's mother". He sounds like he's talking about an object. This was a living, breathing, real live, helpless human being!!!!

RIP, little angel. :1222423:

[Battnt]

God bless that baby girl....:1187603408.CR.Mothe

:1222423:


I hope he rots in hell!...:madranting94dp:

[KittyMom]

:( that poor baby...

[London Lass]

"The firstborn child of the baby's mother". He sounds like he's talking about an object. This was a living, breathing, real live, helpless human being!!!!

RIP, little angel. :1222423:

I thought that comment was particularly weird - almost like it was a biblical reference!

I hope he rots in hell too! :madranting94dp:

RIP little one :1222423:

[KittyMom]

http://www.pennlive.com/news/patriotnews/index.ssf?/base/news/1211943312143560.xml&coll=1

Mother claims city man abused daughter during 'tug of war,' court papers say

Wednesday, May 28, 2008BY AL WINNFor The Patriot-News
LEBANON - A 7-month-old girl, her body covered with bite marks, cuts and bruises, died last week after her father beat her, police said.

The baby's parents, Kevin Clayton Mitchell Jr., 20, and Miriam Nebot, brought the unresponsive girl to Good Samaritan Hospital on Friday, two days after police said they believe the girl suffered most of her injuries.

The child was pronounced dead at the hospital.

According to court documents, Nebot told investigators that the child had been abused by Mitchell last week, including a "tug of war" during a fight between Nebot and Mitchell on May 21.

During the dispute, Mitchell told the girl's mother, "If you don't give her to me, I will choke her," police said.

Mitchell told police he had been frustrated the morning of May 21 because the child had been keeping him awake, according to court documents.
He also told police that he had "anger management" problems, according to court documents.
Mitchell said Nebot was afraid of him and would not take the child to the doctor because of his threats and abuse, police said.
A medical examination found adult bite marks on the baby's cheek, chin and back, and other injuries, including bleeding in the left eye, court documents state.
Mitchell, of the first block of South Eighth Street, Lebanon, has been charged with aggravated assault, simple assault and reckless endangerment in the death of the child. He was placed in Lebanon County Prison Saturday in lieu of $500,000 bail.

Mitchell could face more charges after an autopsy is completed, District Judge Maria Dissinger said. It had been scheduled for Tuesday.

Lebanon County District Attorney Dave Arnold has scheduled a news conference today to discuss the case.

AL WINN: 507-6413 or awinn@patriot-news.com

[KittyMom]

A look at the loser.

http://blog.pennlive.com/midstate_impact/2008/05/medium_Kevin%20Mitchell.jpg

[Pandabear]

I hope they give this guy the death penalty and he feels the 'bite' of the needle before he dies. :madranting94dp: I'm sorry but no amount of threats from a coward like him could have kept me from getting help for my baby.


RIP sweet baby Zariyah. :1222423:

[KittyMom]

http://ldnews.com/news/ci_9415250

By JOHN LATIMER
Staff Writer
Lebanon Daily News

A 20-year-old Lebanon man is facing homicide charges in connection with the death last week of his infant daughter, the Lebanon County District Attorney’s office announced yesterday.
Kevin C. Mitchell Jr. of 46 S. Eighth St. is being held without bail in Lebanon County prison.

Six-month-old Zariyah Mitchell was buried yesterday.

She died from injuries she suffered at the hands of Mitchell — including bites, bruises and burns — in the weeks prior to her death, District Attorney David Arnold said during an afternoon news conference in his courthouse office.

“There is a pattern of abuse against this child,” Arnold said. “There were a number of bite marks inflicted upon this child by Mr. Mitchell. She suffered a very substantial burn to her body in the past, at the hands of Mr. Mitchell. And it was obviously a very tortured six months that she lived.”

Arnold said he will seek the maximum penalty against Mitchell, including a death sentence if the case will support it.

“The one thing that I will say is, whatever the maximum penalty the law will allow us to seek against Kevin Mitchell, we will be seeking that,” he said. “If that does include the death penalty, we will most certainly seek that. ... The allegations made against Kevin Mitchell are horrific. If in fact he is convicted of those crimes, he deserves every punishment he can be given.”
The infant lived with Mitchell and her mother, Miriam Nebot. According to the criminal complaint, the couple got into a fight on the morning of May 21 when Mitchell became frustrated because the baby was keeping him awake. Mitchell said the couple got into a “tug-of-war” with the infant, and he grabbed his daughter by the neck and told Nebot, “If you don’t give her to me, I will choke her,” according to the criminal complaint.
Mitchell told investigators that after the incident the infant stopped eating and drinking and developed a fever.

Two days later, on Friday, the couple took the infant, in an unresponsive state, to Good Samaritan Hospital’s emergency room, where doctors were unable to revive her. Noticing the signs of abuse, they contacted city police, who called in the county’s Child Abuse Response Team.

Mitchell was arrested on Saturday and initially charged with aggravated assault, simple assault and endangering the welfare of a child, police said. The homicide charges were filed yesterday after investigators learned the results of an autopsy conducted Saturday, Arnold said.

An additional charge of aggravated assault was filed after a second-degree burn was found on the child’s body. Mitchell admitted to investigators that he burned the child while rinsing her in a bathtub three or four weeks ago, but did not seek medical attention for her.

Arnold repeatedly described the child’s treatment as “horrific.”

An examination of her body revealed bite marks to her left cheek, chin and upper back, according to the criminal complaint. Bruises and other marks were found on her right cheek, face, chest, thighs and legs. Bleeding was found in her left eye.

In the criminal complaint, Nebot told investigators that Mitchell had bitten the child “because he was frustrated.”

Mitchell admitted to biting the child “excessively” and having anger-management problems. He said in the criminal complaint that he found “it hard to believe I did anything to cause the child’s death.”

But in another statement, he said, “I am sorry and I did not mean to take the first-born child of the baby’s mother, and whatever goes on now, whatever you find on her, was done by me.”

Mitchell told investigators that Nebot was scared of him and would not take the baby to a doctor because of his threats. He also said he did not want to take his daughter to a doctor for fear the child would be taken from the couple.

Officials from Lebanon County Children and Youth Services were never made aware of the abuse until the infant was taken to the hospital, Arnold said.

Arnold would not comment on whether any charges will be filed against Nebot.

He also would not comment on whether others knew about the child’s condition but failed to report it.

“We have a lot of investigation to complete yet,” he said. “We are going to look into that very thoroughly. We are going to look into every possible scenario as to how things got to this point. And once we complete that, we will make decisions at that point in time.”

Mitchell was not employed, Arnold said. He had no prior criminal record in Lebanon County. It was not clear if he had any convictions elsewhere.

Mitchell’s preliminary hearing is set for June 13 at 11 a.m. He does not currently have an attorney, Arnold said.

JohnLatimer@LDNews.com