"Infant John Doe" - 16 Months - Madelia (SW of Minneapolis) MN

A 19 year old Madelia man is behind bars tonight... accused of beating a
16 month old child.James Earl Spidahl is being held in the Watonwan
County Jail on three charges. The most serious being malicious
punishment of a child.Spidahl was ordered held without bail today...
while the court determines if he can go to an inpatient treatment center
for evaluation.It's a case Watonwan County Attorney LaMar Piper says is
sad all around.LaMar Piper says, "They're hard to deal with because
generally there's a lot of denial up and down the line".According to the
criminal complaint it all started when police were called to this house
on 3rd Avenue South in St. James for a domestic assault on
Thursday.Once there... police say they found an infant sitting on the
floor... who they say had severe swelling and bruising to the face and
head.The mother of the child... just 16 years old... told police her
boyfriend... 19 year old James Earl Spidahl injured the child.LaMar
Piper says, "When police saw the child it was obvious the child had been
hit and hit hard, child was bruised, left eye closed, head swollen, it
was a serious assault".In a later interview with police and a child
protection specialist... the teen mom said her son had been in Spidahl's
care while she was at school and work, and that she *had* noticed some
injuries the day before.According to the complaint Spidahl admitted to
hitting the child in the head.The complaint says on Thursday the teen
mom went to school, and when she returned home her son had multiple
bruises, and his eyes were swollen shut.The teen mom also stated Spidahl
made several suicidal threats...Today in court defense Attorney Oliver
Skillings... asked the judge to send Spidahl for a mental
evaluation.Oliver Skillings says, "What I wanted to do was get an
evaluation regarding his mental health. Because the family had
concerns... because they young man hasn't had problems in the past".The
Judge ruled Spidahl remain behind bars while the court determines if
there's an inpatient treatment he can be admitted into.His next court
appearance is set for June 8th.

JMHO--- Here we go again, 16 year old child gives birth. Has boyfriend who is not the Baby Daddy that proceeds to punch the bejeezuz out of a 16 month old baby....What is it with this horrible scenario?

A 19-year-old St. James man who allegedly gave a beating to a toddler
because he was “being a brat” faces child-abuse charges.
Police said James Spidahl was arrested Thursday at the St. James
residence he shares with his girlfriend and her child.
According to the Watonwan County District Court complaint: A friend of
the girlfriend called police to the home, where officers found the boy
with multiple bruises on his body and his left eye swollen shut.
Spidahl had been caring for the 16-month-old child while his mother was
at school. When she returned home and saw the injuries, Spidahl told
her the boy had been misbehaving so he struck him “a couple times.”
When police arrived at the home, the mother told them that Spidahl was
sitting in the bathroom and was suicidal.
An officer located Spidahl in the bathroom and observed a marijuana
pipe on the sink and detected a marijuana odor.
When asked what happened, Spidahl began to cry and said, “I hit him.”
The mother told police Spidahl urged her not to call police and had
been walking around the house with a knife, threatening to kill himself.
She said after she grabbed the knife away from him, he tied a belt
around his neck.
The child was taken to the St. James hospital and kept overnight for
medical observation.

Spidahl was in the Watonwan County Jail and has been charged with
malicious punishment of a child.