Baby Died After Allegedly Being Violently Shaken in 2018 -- and His Father is Now Arrested

A Connecticut man has been charged with killing his infant son in 2018.

On Oct. 20, 2018, Rashaad Ratchford’s infant son was hospitalized in critical condition after sustaining brain injuries. He had allegedly been violently shaken and was pronounced dead the following day, WTNH, NBC Connecticut and the New Haven Register report.

In February, after conducting a months-long investigation of interviews and forensic tests, police obtained an arrest warrant for Ratchford.

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“Although it is important not to re-victimize a family that loses a child, in this case Detective Leonardo Solo and other members of the Special Victims Unit used their diligence and fought for justice for the child who no longer had a voice in the matter,” Assistant Chief of Investigations Karl Jacobson said.

On March 4, Ratchford, of New Haven, turned himself in. Ratchford was arrested on first-degree manslaughter charges and risk of injury to a child.

Ratchford is being held on $250,000 bond. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. He is schedule to appear in court on March 31. Attorney information was not available Monday.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to http://www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.