WAMBLI THUNDERHAWK - 4 Months (2010)/ Charged: William Thunderhawk - Oakland CA

Oakland police have arrested the father of a 4-month-old boy as a possible suspect in his son's death.     Officer Jeff Thomason, a department spokesman, says the infant died around 2:10 a.m. Sunday one week after he arrived at Children's Hospital Oakland. His parents say they found him in an unconscious state.     Thomason says the Oakland boy's 26-year-old father was taken into custody on suspicion of child abuse because the infant was in the man's care and suffered injuries at that time. The father's name has not been released.     The Oakland Tribune reports that authorities initially said the infant may have been suffocated.     An autopsy is scheduled for Monday.

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The father of a 4-month-old boy in Oakland has been arrested in connection with his son's death, police said today.The 26-year-old suspect, whose name has not been released, allegedly caused unspecified injuries that led to the infant's death, said Officer Jeff Thomason, an Oakland police spokesman. The man is being held on suspicion of child abuse and could face more serious charges pending a review by Alameda County prosecutors.The baby was in his father's care at the time he suffered his injuries, Thomason said.The boy, whose name was also withheld, lived with his father on the 1600 block of Sixth Avenue in a neighborhood east of Lake Merritt, Thomason said.The infant was taken to Children's Hospital Oakland on Nov. 28 after his parents found him unconscious, Thomason said. Police were summoned to the hospital the next day after doctors determined that the baby had been abused, authorities said.The boy was pronounced dead at 2:10 a.m. Sunday.

Father of dead 4-month-old boy faces 25 years to life in prison

By Paul T. Rosynsky, Oakland Tribune
Posted: 12/10/2010 12:25:05 PM PST
Updated: 3 years ago

OAKLAND -- A father whose 4-month-old baby died from injuries consistent with being suffocated faces 25 years to life in prison after he was charged Friday with assaulting a child under 8 years old, causing death, according to the Alameda County District Attorney's Office.

William Thunderhawk, 26, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of homicide but was charged Friday with a child abuse criminal law that can result in the same prison time as a murder conviction.

Since the death of the child, Thunderhawk had been at the John George Psychiatric Pavilion in San Leandro for observation. He is now being held in the North County Jail.

According to a probable cause arrest warrant written by detectives at the Oakland Police Department, Thunderhawk admitted that he had placed his son facedown on a couch in the family's apartment because the child would not stop crying. The incident occurred when the son's mother, Marjorie Castaneda, 31, went to the store, the warrant states.

"When officers informally spoke with William Thunderhawk, he told them that the victim began to cry and he did not know what to do, so he placed the child facedown on the sofa and pushed the victim's facedown twice into the sofa crevice area," the warrant states.

Police became aware of the case late last month when doctors at Children's Hospital Oakland notified the department that a baby who suffered possible child abuse had been admitted to their emergency room.

The child, Wambli Thunderhawk, had visible injuries, the doctors told police.

Last Sunday, the baby boy died.

An autopsy performed this week determined that Wambli had injuries consistent with suffocation and three fractured ribs, police said.

The autopsy also revealed that the injuries could have occurred a week before the baby was taken to the hospital.

Wambli had lived with his father, his mother and a 5-year-old brother in an apartment in the 1600 block of Sixth Avenue.

http://www.insidebayarea.com/oakland/ci_16827281

Oakland man gets 11 years for accidentally killing his 4-month-old son

By Paul T. Rosynsky, Oakland Tribune
Posted:   03/20/2012 05:51:51 PM PDT
Updated:   03/20/2012 10:20:02 PM PDT

OAKLAND -- A man charged with murder in the killing of his 4-month-old son was sent to prison for 11 years Tuesday under a plea deal in which he was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter.

William Thunder Hawk, 28, was offered a deal by prosecutors after evidence in the case revealed the killing was an accident, said Eric Mirzaian, a public defender who represented Thunder Hawk.

"There has never been any question that he had no intention to hurt the child," Mirzaian said. "This has been a very, very long and difficult road for this family; they have suffered a great deal." Thunder Hawk was arrested and charged with murder and assault on a child causing death on December, 8, 2010, after an autopsy confirmed the baby had injuries consistent with suffocation, including three broken ribs.

In a sobbing statement given to detectives, Thunder Hawk said he placed the baby's head between two cushions of a couch in an attempt to stop him from crying while Thunder Hawk was doing house chores.

When the boy's mother returned home from a brief food shopping trip, she and Thunder Hawk discovered that the boy was no longer breathing. Thunder Hawk immediately began CPR while the boy's mother, who lived with Thunder Hawk, called 911.

The boy was rushed to Children's Hospital Oakland and died about a week later, after his mother decided to end life support for her child, who had severe brain damage.

Mirzaian said his client has shown remorse for the killing ever since the incident and suffers from severe depression that contributed to at least two suicide attempts while in jail. Mirzaian said his client also appears to have a cognitive disability and is a person "whose cognitive sophistication is closer to that of a child than a man of his age."

A doctor who examined the boy concluded that he showed no previous signs of abuse and that the broken ribs the boy sustained were a result of Thunder Hawk's attempts at CPR.

Thunder Hawk's older son, who is now 6, showed no signs of abuse.

"The overwhelming evidence suggests that William Thunder Hawk did not intend to injure his son, much less kill him," Mirzaian wrote in a sentencing letter. "The manner in which William placed his child on the sofa and his attempts to muffle (the boy's) crying reflect his gross misjudgment and perhaps his impaired cognitive capacity."

Alameda County deputy district attorney Armando Pastran, who handled the case, did not returned phone calls seeking comment.

Rebecca Richardson, a spokeswoman for the Alameda County District Attorney's Office, said the office reached a deal based on "the facts, evidence and circumstances of the case." Thunder Hawk will be released from prison in about eight years, after serving 85 percent of his sentence. He was given almost a year of credit for time served.

His partner, the boy's mother, told the court that she will continue to support Thunder Hawk and will welcome him home when he his released.

http://www.insidebayarea.com/news/ci_20217517/oakland-man-gets-11-years-accidentally-killing-his