"Newborn John" LUA - 2 Months/ Accused: Sigifredo Lua - Pittsburg CA

PITTSBURG
-- A 24-year-old Antioch father was ordered Wednesday to stand trial on
murder charges for fatally punching his 2-month-old son in the head in
February.
Sigifredo Lua was also held to answer on one count of
felony child abuse for older injuries suffered by the infant,
misdemeanor child abuse for allegedly slapping his older son in 2009 --
when that child was 2 months old -- and felony domestic violence for
alleged abuse on the children's mother.
Lua, whose former partner
described as subject to mood swings, told police that he hit the infant
in the side of his head with a closed fist on Feb. 15 out of frustration
with the baby's crying.
The infant, referred to in court as John
Doe, died in his mother's arms at a hospital three days later. He had
multiple skull fractures, a lacerated liver, and broken ribs in various
stages of healing, prosecutor Jason Peck said.
Lua first told
police he slipped while holding the infant and that the child's head hit
a couch arm rest, officers testified. When asked to explain the baby's
broken ribs, Lua said it must have been caused on a hot day -- in winter
-- when both he and his son were sweaty and he squeezed the infant's
body to stop him from slipping out of his arms.
The children's
mother said she left Lua in January 2009 when she first suspected that
he hit their first infant, but she later returned to him because she
needed his financial support.
The woman, who described being abused herself by Lua,
said her fear of Lua stopped her from being fully forthcoming from
officers when she first called police on him."I wanted to tell them everything but I was afraid of the consequences that would happen after," she said.
Lua's
preliminary hearing did not delve into the what actions Contra Costa
County Children and Family Services took after police reported that he
abused his older son in 2009. The District Attorney's office said there
was insufficient evidence at the time to charge him with that attack.
The
children's mother testified that it was rare for Lua to be alone with
the boys. She said she had only been at work for two hours the day of
the fatal incident when he called to say their infant was unresponsive,
and he didn't know why.
"Sigifredo never really watched them
because I always had someone else take care of them," she said.
"Sigifredo didn't have patience."
Lua returns to court on Jan. 19 for post-preliminary hearing plea entry.
http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_19596434