Brooke Nicole Kessler (Western Regional Jail) and the home where she allegedly killed her 16-day-old daughter (WCHS screenshot)
A 32-year-old mother in West Virginia has been arrested and accused of killing her 16-day-old baby, allegedly telling police she was “irritated and “probably” caused the fatal injuries by squeezing newborn “too hard” during burping.
Brooke Nicole Kessler was taken into custody on Thursday and charged with one count of child abuse resulting in death, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
Kessler had initially been charged with child abuse causing serious bodily injury, but the charge was upgraded after her daughter died over the weekend.
According to a report from West Virginia MetroNews, troopers with the state police on the evening of June 20, responded to a call about a newborn baby with suspicious injuries at the Charleston Area Medical Center (CAMC) Women & Children’s Hospital in the 800 block of Pennsylvania Avenue N.
Upon arriving at the scene, hospital staffers reportedly told authorities the child suffered “multiple, serious injuries” that “appeared to be suspicious/non accidental in nature.” The injuries included six broken ribs, a broken arm, and bruising on the infant’s throat, eye, and back of the head.
A copy of the criminal complaint obtained by Charleston, West Virginia ABC and Fox affiliate WCHS provided more details about authorities say happened.
The report states that a trooper conducted a follow-up interview with Kessler regarding the injuries her suffered by her newborn daughter.
During the interview, Kessler reportedly said that earlier in the day she had been burping the baby and placed one hand on the back of the child’s head and around her neck because she was “irritated with the baby and herself and probably squeezed too hard causing those injuries.”
Kessler claimed that she was not trying to harm her daughter at the time.
“Ms. Kessler stated she did not intend to squeeze that hard,” the complaint states. “Ms. Kessler also stated that the ribs may have broken when she picked the baby up by the chest to burp her and she was irritated and squeezed the baby too hard, possibly breaking the ribs.”
Kessler allegedly stated that she didn’t hear or feel any of the baby’s ribs breaking. Additionally, when asked about the newborn’s broken arm, Kessler reportedly said her husband may have been responsible for that injury.
Kessler’s husband denied inflicting any injuries on his daughter. He also told investigators that his wife had been suffering from postpartum depression, saying she would get easily frustrated and often failed to change the infant’s diapers or provide her with basic care.
“Mr. Kessler stated that he has had to stop her a few times from shaking the baby and that he would take the baby from her and have her cool off,” the complaint said.
The husband also said that due to his wife’s postpartum depression, he had asked his mother to care for the little girl from June 9 to June 14.
The newborn remained in the hospital until Sunday, when she was taken off life support and pronounced dead.
Kessler is currently being housed in the Western Regional Jail. She is scheduled to appear in court on July 3 for a preliminary hearing.
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