Malcolm Nelson is behind bars after allegedly shaking his 3-month-old son so hard that it was like he was in a car crash. He’s charged with aggravated child abuse. (Volusia County Jail)
A Florida father is behind bars after allegedly shaking his 3-month-old son so hard that it was like he was in a car crash.
More than eight months later, the boy, now nearly a year old, remains at the hospital on a ventilator, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said.
The boy was taken from his home in Ormond Beach to a hospital around 7:30 a.m. on Jan. 23. His father, 32-year-old Malcolm Nelson, claimed he picked up the boy, who went limp and was unresponsive. Hospital staff alerted police and the Department of Children and Families of the possible abuse, and they began investigating.
A CT scan showed the boy was suffering from a brain bleed, a probable cause arrest affidavit said. Medical staff determined that the boy went into cardiac arrest, and his heart stopped for 16 minutes. He also suffered a possible arm fracture. Since infants are immobile, it would be impossible for him to suffer injuries like that on his own, a doctor specializing in child abuse told detectives.
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The doctor examined the boy and determined the injuries were caused by “abusive head trauma,” likely from someone shaking him, the affidavit said. The boy’s older brother told investigators that Nelson sometimes became frustrated with the boy and had shaken him in the past, including the morning of the incident, the affidavit said. Nelson had been caring for the boy the previous week while the mother worked.
“Dr. Walter said his injuries would be comparable to being in a car crash, and at no point did his parents indicate they were in a car crash that morning,” the affidavit said.
Nelson was arrested on a charge of aggravated child abuse in Orlando last week and extradited to the Volusia County Jail on Tuesday. He remains in custody with bond set at $150,000. If the boy does not recover from his injuries, the charges will be upgraded, authorities said.
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