Alleged 'Sleepwalker' Leaves Newborn Baby Dead, With Fractured Ribs Following Abuse

A Fayetteville father faces a charge of second-degree murder following the death of his four-week-old daughter on Aug. 29 while the infant was left in his care.

The suspect, Charles Dugan, 26, was initially booked into the Washington County jail at 4:51 p.m. Thursday in connection with the battery. A charge of second-degree murder was added to the jail log later, with Dugan being held with no bail set, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.

According to police, officers were called to a home on Kantz Drive at 8:55 p.m. on Aug. 29 to assist the Fayetteville Fire Department and Central Emergency Medical Services. A neighbor would then report a four-week-old infant was in cardiac arrest and didn't appear to be breathing.

Emergency life-saving measures were attempted for several minutes at the scene before the infant was rushed to Arkansas Children's Hospital Northwest, where she was pronounced dead, according to a preliminary report from the Fayetteville Police Department.

During the initial investigation, the mother of the baby said she left the infant alone with Dugan around 5:15 p.m., noting he usually watched the child while she was at work. She would only return home after 9 p.m. after Dugan contacted her for an emergency.

When asked by police, Dugan said he put the infant in her crib while swaddled in a blanket, using another blanket to prop a bottle in her mouth. The father would leave the child unattended for some 10 minutes for a bathroom break. Upon his return, he would stumble upon the child already choking on milk.

He added milk was already coming out of her nose, prompting him to call for help via 911. According to the report, his call did not connect and he had to go to a neighbor's unit for help, 5NewsOnline noted.

Three months after the baby’s death, in early December, the medical examiner's report determined the cause of death to be a homicide. The paperwork also identified the toddler sustained head injuries caused by blunt-force trauma, with some recent and some healing rib fractures.

The medical examiner further indicated that the time frame for the head injuries and the recent rib fractures was less than 24 hours.

For a second time, police interrogated Dugan on Dec. 6. During the interview, the father’s story changed. He told police he had fallen asleep with the infant on his chest, claiming she had fallen and hit her head on the floor or a coffee table.

Three days later, the infant's mother would claim the suspect often suffered from sleepwalking and had once "body-slammed" her during an episode, according to the Daily Beast. Meanwhile, Dugan said he could not recall sleepwalking when the infant was injured.