Dad’s plea of insanity likely in abuse case

The 2-month-old baby girl’s head was completely under water in an apartment bathroom sink when West Palm Beach police officers forced open the door, Tasered the infant’s father and rescued the child.

Today the girl is healthy as she nears her fourth birthday while her dad, Bryan Patrice, is standing trial on charges of aggravated child abuse and attempted second-degree murder.

Jury selection for Patrice began Monday, with his attorney, Michael Salnick, planning to argue the man was insane during

the incident Feb. 24, 2015.

Patrice, 41, spent the first five weeks after his arrest in a locked psychiatric unit of a West Palm Beach hospital.

He then moved to a halfway house for two months, until a judge revoked his bond and put him in Palm Beach County Jail.

Last year another judge in the county’s mental health court ruled that Patrice, who used to work for a tax return preparer, is competent for trial.

Patrice’s ex-wife is one of the key witnesses for prosecutors Marci Rex and Jo Wilensky. The baby’s mother was married to Patrice at the time of the alleged attack and called police for help.

She told the officers her husband appeared fine throughout the evening, and at one point he entered the bathroom and she was feeding the baby in the living room.

According to an arrest report, she then heard some loud noises and Patrice came out of the bathroom naked and yelling “Jehovah” and “Jesus.”

The wife said Patrice grabbed her by the hair, banged her head on the floor and took the child. She ran from the apartment for help, police said.

When the cops arrived, they heard the baby crying from the bathroom and Patrice yelling, “I rebuke you in the name of Jehovah,” the report states.

At that point, the officers forced open the door and found Patrice holding the fully-clothed infant under running water in a sink three-quarters full.

The felony counts are punishable by a total of 45 years in state prison.

Patrice also faces three misdemeanor charges: domestic battery, resisting an officer without violence and marijuana possession.

The trial before Circuit Judge John Kastrenakes is expected to begin Tuesday and last about a week.