INDIANAPOLIS -- An Indianapolis man is now facing felony charges after his infant daughter was admitted to Riley Hospital for Children with a broken leg.
Tyler Moore, 24, was arrested Wednesday after doctors discovered his 1-month-old daughter suffering from a number of injuries, including a fracture to her left femur and bruises on both arms.
Moore initially told doctors that he thought the infant had been hurt when her 2-year-old brother accidentally knocked her out of her baby swing.
The infant’s mother later told police that incident did happen, but that the baby did not appear injured and was able to fall back asleep 30 minutes later.
ALSO READ | Autopsy rules infant’s death a homicide; police say father squeezed baby until ribs fractured
In a preliminary probable cause affidavit filed Thursday in Marion County court, police say Moore eventually told them he was responsible for the injury to his daughter’s leg.
According to police, Moore said he had intentionally bent his daughter’s leg back while changing her diaper. He said he was frustrated because of the accident earlier and because the child’s mother wouldn’t get up to change her diaper.
“Maybe I did pull her leg back a little too far. I felt it pop when I did,” Moore reportedly told police.
Further examination of the infant found additional injuries to the child’s left femur and both tibias. Doctors said the injuries were a type, called classic metaphyseal lesions, that is strongly associated with child abuse.
According to the affidavit, classic metaphyseal lesions are “unique to growing bones” and are “typically caused by forceful pulling, grabbing, or twisting of the limb, and/or violent shaking.”
On Monday, prosecutors filed paperwork charging Moore with one count of battery and two counts of neglect of a dependent resulting in bodily injury, all level 5 felonies.
Moore appeared for a preliminary hearing Monday afternoon in Marion County Criminal Court 1.
MORE FROM THE CRIME BEAT | Indianapolis sets all-time homicide record for third year in a row | MAP: Indy's most dangerous neighborhoods | The Night the Sky Caught Fire: The Untold Stories of Richmond Hill | Convicted child molester reveals how he selected & groomed his victims | Teens killed man over weed and a pair of Air Jordans, police say | MAP: 2017 Indianapolis homicides
