KITSAP/UPDATE— A resident of south Kitsap county was found guilty of killing his own 5-month-old toddler.
The Kitsap County Sheriff’s detectives arrested and charged a man from south Kitsap county named Michael Rivera (who aged around 35)on Wednesday. The man is accused of brutally killing his 5-month-old baby boy.
The 5-month-old boy, identified as TTR in court documents, died Sept. 22 from a homicide resulting from “undetermined violent means,” according to documents filed in Kitsap County Superior Court.
Court documents state that Michael Rivera said he found the boy face down in the crib. Medics and deputies were immediately called to Rivera’s house on Sept. 16 after reports that the baby boy was not actually breathing. Several Doctors at the Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma said they found “several fractures” to the baby boy’s jaw, ribs, collar bone, and sternum in multiple stages of healing, along with grave injuries to his abdomen.
Michael Rivera said that he handled the baby boy roughly as he was a bit frustrated. He further said he lacks experience in handling newborns and could have mishandled the baby boy, according to court documents. The detectives reported that several doctors found numerous injuries mainly caused by some kind of violence or head trauma.
Court documents revealed that Michael Rivera and his wife were the only caregivers for TTR, and Rivera explains one incident in which he recalled that his chins collided with the baby boy’s chin while he was alone with him. Documents show that Rivera is clearly not accepting the accusations that he murdered his 5-month baby boy. The court rules that Michael Rivera will remain in jail. Investigations will proceed further.