4-Month-Old Baby Dead After Being 'Punched In The Face,' Brutally Abused By Father

A 4-month-old baby reportedly died of abusive head trauma after he was brutally punched in the face and beaten to death by his father at the family’s home on Lower East Side, Madison Street.

Ceferino Sanchez, 34, has been charged with murder in the second degree, manslaughter in the first degree, reckless assault of a child, and assault in the second degree for the brutal slaying of young Cairo Dixon-Sanchez, who died suffering a series of horrific injuries, including multiple skull fractures, Law & Crime reported.

On April 24, Sanchez and the child’s mother were both at the family’s Lower East Side home located in the 300 block of Madison Street. However, while Cairo’s mother was in another room away from Sanchez and the baby, she suddenly heard a “loud bang.” Sanchez allegedly shouted from the other room that he had dropped the baby’s bottle. About an hour later, the child’s mother reportedly heard “two more thumps” followed by the sound of Cairo crying. This time, Sanchez allegedly told the mother that Cairo had accidentally fallen but he had taken care of it.

At about 8:30 a.m the following morning, a crying Sanchez woke the mother and pleaded with her to help him, saying the child’s bassinet had fallen over. He then reportedly told the woman that they needed to get their “stories straight,” Daily News reported.

“Remember I was in the bed with you when all this happened and Cairo was in the bassinet,” Sanchez allegedly said. “Otherwise this could look bad.”

The boy’s mother told investigators that before Sanchez took the baby to the hospital, she saw Cairo’s body completely wrapped in a blanket on the couch.

On April 25, Sanchez took Cairo “in a car seat covered by a blanket” to NYU Langone Hospital.

Sanchez allegedly told medical personnel that the child suddenly “jerked” out of his arms and fell on the floor while he was holding Cairo and feeding him. However, the severity of Cairo’s injuries reportedly did not resemble Sanchez's version of events. Cairo was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the facility.

Following the incident, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of New York City performed an autopsy on Cairo and concluded that the baby sustained multiple skull fractures in addition to “bruising under both eyelids, a torn frenulum, abrasions to the nostrils and ears, and abrasions to the child’s face.” Cairo’s manner of death was ruled a homicide and his cause of death was determined to be “abusive head trauma.”

Following the incident, Sanchez was arrested. He is now being held without bond at the Anna M. Kross Correctional Facility in East Elmdale. He is scheduled to appear in court again on Sept. 13.

Meanwhile, the couple’s 3-year-old daughter, who was also home at the time of the incident, was taken from the apartment by the Administration for Children’s Services after Sanchez was arrested.