Man charged in death of infant
Infant suffered head, spinal cord injuries from shaking, official says
Berks County detectives Tuesday charged an Exeter Township man with murder in the death of his 11-weekold daughter in the spring.
Giovanni Gomez, 28, of the 1100 block of Fox Run was in Berks County Prison on unrelated charges when charged with first- and thirddegree murder charges, investigators said.
Chief County Detective Michael J. Gombar provided the following account:
On March 28 about 4 p.m., county emergency dispatchers contacted county detectives to investigate a neardeath incident involving an infant.
The on-duty detective learned the child’s mother called 9-1-1 requesting an ambulance for her daughter. She reported her daughter was breathing but was pale, her lips were blue and she was cold to the touch.
An ambulance was dispatched to the home in the 1100 block of Fox Run, and medics immediately transported the baby to the trauma unit at Reading Hospital.
Detectives contacted Berks County Children and Youth Services and learned from a case worker that the medical staff at the hospital performed a CAT scan on the baby that identified a brain bleed.
The baby was transferred to St. Christopher’s Hospital in Philadelphia. Detectives met with the caseworker and were escorted to the intensive care unit where they met with the baby’s father, Gomez.
Detectives also met with the infant’s mother.
The parents confirmed they are the sole caretakers of their daughter.
Detectives learned the girl’s mother went to work March 27 about 2:15 p.m., leaving the baby in the care of Gomez.
Gomez said he fed the baby multiple times and gave her a bath about 8 p.m. He put the baby down for the night about 10:40 p.m.
He said the baby was vomiting, but he didn’t detect any medical concerns.
The mother returned home about 11:45 p.m. and found her daughter whining in her sleep. She said this was not normal.
She believed her daughter may have a cold.
The next morning, the baby was still whiny in her sleep and sounded congested, according to her mother.
She left the home to get some medical items for the baby. When she got back, she and Gomez went to the baby’s bedroom and noticed she was having trouble breathing. The mother called 9-1-1.
On March 31, detectives spoke with a doctor who is a member of the child protection team at St. Christopher’s Hospital in Philadelphia. The doctor advised that an MRI/MRA was performed that identified a serious brain injury. Additionally, the child’s the spine showed damage and there was minimal blood flow to the brain.
The doctor also saw hemorrhages in both eyes and concluded they were the result of an inflicted traumatic head injury.
The baby died in the hospital April 1 at 10:21 p.m.
Dr. Supriya Kuruvilla, a Reading Hospital forensic pathologist, performed an autopsy the next day. She concluded the death resulted from head and spinal cord injuries due to shaken impact and blunt force trauma.
The Berks County coroner’s office ruled the death a homicide.
Detectives charged Gomez with first- and thirddegree murder, aggravated assault and child endangerment.
Gomez, who has been in jail since April 4, was arraigned by video before District Judge Sandra L. Fegley Tuesday afternoon. There is no bail for first-degree murder.
A preliminary hearing has been set for July 9.