ALEXANDER HEIKES - 7 weeks - Minneapolis MN

He asked the police detectives for help with his "rage problem."
Unfortunately for Alexander Brennan Heikes' dead 7-week-old son,
the request came too late. Hours earlier, in what prosecutors claimed
was a fit of anger over his failure to find work, his failure to finish
high school and his failed relationship, Heikes squeezed his son,
Alexander Heikes, to death.

Heikes, 19, of Minneapolis, was charged Monday with
second-degree murder in the child's July 4 death. His first court
appearance is set for today.
"This is a pretty ugly case," said Hennepin County Attorney
Michael Freeman, whose office charged Heikes. "He just put the thumbs
in the stomach and hands in the back and squeezed."
The baby's liver and spleen were lacerated and the infant bled out into his abdomen, the medical examiner's office said.

Heikes was being held in the Hennepin County Adult Detention Center, his bail set at $750,000.

The charge filed against Heikes alleges that the death was
unintentional, but that the murder occurred in the course of another
crime, first-degree assault. The crime carries a maximum 40 years in
prison.
An affidavit by Assistant County Attorney Therese Galatowitsch
says the police investigation found the events that led to the baby's
death began about 1 a.m. July 4 after the child's mother had gone out
with a friend and left the baby with Heikes. Heikes and the woman —
identified only as "G.L." in the criminal complaint — live together in a studio apartment in the 2500 block of Golden Valley Road in Minneapolis' Willard-Hay neighborhood.

Apparently, Heikes had been stewing about "his spot in life," said
Freeman. He was angry that he hadn't graduated from high school, he had
no job prospects and his relationship with Alexander's mother was
souring. He was also angry, Freeman said, "at the fact she was out at 1
o'clock in the morning."
The baby began fussing in his crib. Police said Heikes later
told them that when the baby stirred, he picked him up "and held the
child in front of him with his fingers near the child's spine and his
thumbs on the child's abdomen. The defendant admitted he aggressively
squeezed" the child, Galatowitsch wrote.
Heikes later claimed that the child began having difficulty
breathing, the complaint says. He tried soothing the infant by placing
him on his chest and lying down on the bed with him, the complaint
says.
"When he woke up a couple hours later, at around 3 a.m., he
realized that (the child) wasn't breathing and appeared to be dead,"
the complaint says. About an hour later — after talking to the child's
mother on the phone — Heikes called 911.
When police arrived, they allegedly found Heikes standing outside the apartment, phone in one hand, dead son in the other.

The Hennepin County medical examiner's office determined that
Alexander died from "blunt force trauma." Doctors also determined that
the baby "had numerous areas of bruising on his abdomen in addition to
10 to 12 healing rib fractures," the complaint said.
When police questioned Heikes, he confessed to what he had
done, wrote Galatowitsch, and also "asked the investigators for help
with his rage problem."
Freeman didn't mince words when asked if Heikes had had other options.

"If he'd called 911 at 1 o'clock when he had this rage, they
would've come and picked the child up," the prosecutor said. "There are
social services available 24/7, 365, who can help people who don't know
what to do. In a moment of despair or rage, there are places that can
take a kid off your hands and help you out."

If you've been paying attention to the news, you know it has been a cruel summer for children in Minnesota.
Just last week, the front page of the Star Tribune reported the
story of a mother charged with starving to death her 10-year-old
disabled daughter, Lakesha Victor. A few weeks earlier, a South St.
Paul mother was accused of murdering her 10-year-old son and attempting
to murder her daughter; 18-month-old Brianna Rose Jackson of St. Paul
drowned in a bathtub while in the care of foster parents, and
18-month-old Nicholas Miller was beaten to death, allegedly by his
stepfather. And this week's paper carries the story of 7-week-old
Alexander Heikes Jr., whose 19-year-old father is accused of fatally
squeezing his infant son.
Sadly, these stories are not unique. Last year in Minnesota, there
were 5,400 reported cases of child abuse and neglect. Of those, 46
victims sustained life-threatening injuries, and 16 died. In the
current economic environment, even more families will find themselves
in extremely stressful situations, and even more children will be at
risk.
As a community, we need to ask ourselves: Could these tragedies be prevented?

No parent sets out to harm their child. Yet whether due to mental
illness such as depression, stress caused by poverty or the inherent
challenges of parenting, any parent can reach a breaking point. That's
why when we hear about the death or injury to a child -- although our
instinct may be to put down the paper or turn off the news -- we must
each reflect on what we can do to ensure the safety and well-being of
children in our community.
Child abuse is 100 percent preventable. We need to believe this. Yet
no government or social service agency can end child abuse on its own.
We all must be part of the solution by encouraging people to ask for
help and listening when they do.

When Minneapolis police arrived at Alexander Heikes' house in
response to his 911 call in July, the 19-year-old new father stood
outside his home, cradling his lifeless 7-week-old son, Alexander, in
his left arm.
Officers took the baby and performed chest compressions, but he was
pronounced dead a short time later. There weren't any obvious signs of
trauma, yet investigators immediately investigated the death as a
homicide.
On Monday, Heikes was charged with unintentional second-degree
murder. The Hennepin County medical examiner said the baby's liver and
spleen were lacerated and had bled into his abdominal cavity. The baby
also had areas of bruising on his abdomen, and nearly a dozen healing
rib fractures.
"I can't believe you can squeeze a baby that hard to break its spleen and liver," said Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman.
Heikes, he said, "appeared to be unprepared for the responsibility of parenthood."
Earlier on the night of the baby's death, according to police,
Heikes was struggling with the direction his life was taking. He was
upset that he didn't have a job and that he had not finished high
school, and his relationship with Alexander's mother wasn't going well.
His rage, according to a court document, was taken out on his son.
Heikes told police the baby was fussing, so he took Alexander out of
the crib, put his fingers near the baby's spine and his thumbs on his
abdomen. Then he squeezed, the document said.
Alexander had trouble breathing, so Heikes tried to soothe the baby
by laying him on his chest and they fell asleep. When he woke,
Alexander appeared to be dead, the document said.

'Overwhelmingly sad'
The case investigators said Heikes told them he wanted help for his
rage problem. He has repeatedly expressed remorse over his baby's
death, said Capt. Amelia Huffman.
"It's clear the dad had significant problems with managing his anger," she said. "This case is overwhelming sad."

Minneapolis man gets 7 1/2 years for killing son

April 27, 2010

A 19-year-old man had been sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison for killing his 7-week-old son last year in Minneapolis.

Alexander Brennan Heikes was sentenced Monday by Hennepin County District Judge Daniel C. Moreno to 90 months in St. Cloud prison. Initially charged with unintentional second-degree murder, Heikes pleaded guilty April 1 to first-degree manslaughter.

His infant son, also named Alexander Heikes, died July 4 of blunt force trauma, with a lacerated liver and spleen and bleeding in his abdominal cavity, according to the criminal complaint. Heikes squeezed his son after the baby fussed, the complaint said. Police and paramedics came to Heikes' home on the 2500 block of Golden Valley Road on a report of a baby not breathing.

Heikes got credit for 262 days served and must serve two-thirds of his sentence before he'll be eligible for parole.

VINCE TUSS
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