Man accused of injuring 3-month-old

BENTONVILLE — A Florida man is in the Benton County Jail accused of injuring his 3-month-old daughter.

Eduardo Martinez, 32, of Palm Beach was being held Tuesday with a $250,000 bond. He was arrested in connection with domestic battering.

U.S. Marshals arrested Martinez on July 27 in Florida and returned him last week to Benton County.

Prosecutors haven’t filed a formal charge against Martinez. If convicted of the charge he was arrested on, he faces from 10 to 40 years in prison or life imprisonment.

Bentonville Emergency Communications received a 911 call at 2:54 p.m. July 17 from Martinez reporting his infant daughter was unresponsive. He said the baby had fallen asleep with him on the couch and he didn’t know what happened to her, according to a probable cause affidavit.

The child was taken by ambulance to Northwest Medical Center-Bentonville, according to the affidavit.

The medical staff told police the child had suffered a skull fracture to the right side of her head and she was bleeding on her brain. They also noted bruises on her body, according to the affidavit.

Martinez had came to Bentonville to meet his daughter for the first time, according to the affidavit.

Estella Grullon, the girl’s mother, told police she left Martinez alone with their daughter and Martinez called her at 2:45 p.m. and told her the baby was acting strange and her face was turning purple, according to the affidavit. Grullon said she told Martinez to call 911 and request an ambulance.

A doctor told police the infant was going to be flown to Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock. The doctor believed the child’s injuries were consistent with blunt force trauma, such as being struck on the head, according to the affidavit.

Police believe the girl was injured when Martinez was alone with her. Martinez denied injuring his daughter when he was questioned by police, the affidavit states.

The girl had contusions on her forehead, abdomen, back and buttocks, according to the affidavit.

Dr. Rachel Clingenpeel at Children’s Hospital told police the child’s injuries would have been caused by excessive and violent force. Clingenpeel said the baby will have some degree of permanent brain injury, according to the affidavit.

Martinez’s arraignment is scheduled for 8 a.m. Sept. 21 in Benton County Circuit Judge Robin Green’s courtroom.

Martinez