Inverness father accused of abusing, killing his 3-month-old baby
Andrew Martin (Citrus County Sheriff's Office)
INVERNESS, Fla. - Deputies arrested a father in Inverness accused of abusing and killing his 3-month-old son.
Back in January, the Citrus County Sheriff's Office responded to a medical emergency call and found the baby's father, 24-year-old Andrew Lynn Martin, attempting to perform CPR on the infant.
Paramedics rushed the baby to Citrus Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
As detectives investigated, they determined Marin had been alone with his infant son in the hours leading up to the baby's death.
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The Medical Examiner's Office found injuries to the infant in various healing stages and determined that recent, multiple blunt force injuries caused his death.
After receiving all of the official medical documents and evidence over the course of the 10-month-long investigation, detectives interviewed Martin on Tuesday, where they said he detailed several instances where his actions would have caused injuries to the baby.
The sheriff's office arrested Martin for aggravated manslaughter, child abuse and child neglect.
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"It is heartbreaking that this three-month-old's life was so short and filled with such violence and abuse," Sheriff Mike Prendergast said. "Our detectives from the Criminal Investigations Division never gave up and continued to seek the truth in this case. They were able to find justice for the innocent victim."
The sheriff's office urged the public to report any suspected instances of child abuse to the Florida Department of Children and Families at 1-800-962-2873.
Martin is being held without bond at the Citrus County Detention Facility.