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AMERICAN FORK — The former vocalist of a Clinton-based metal band was arrested Monday after police say he punched his three-month-old son, causing brain bleeding.
Mason Allen Blair, 22, was arrested on suspicion of inflicting serious injury to a child and booked into Utah County Jail, American Fork police Sgt. Josh Christensen said.
Christensen said the infant had been taken to Davis Medical Center Sunday night with serious head trauma, with multiple brain bleeds and facial trauma.
Blair, who lives in West Haven, had been at a friend’s house in American Fork where at one point the infant spit up on Blair. Blair told police he became angry and struck the child multiple times in the head with a closed fist, Christensen said.
After the incident, Blair and the infant’s mother traveled back to West Haven, where the child’s condition began to deteriorate. Christensen said it appears that only Blair knew of the incident.
"Nobody knew about it. The mother didn't know about it until they had then gone home (to West Haven)," he said. "There had been a good several-hour gap from the time the incident occurred to the time (the infant's) condition deteriorated enough to take the infant to the hospital."
The boy’s mother took the infant to Davis Medical Center, where the injuries were discovered. The infant was then taken by medical helicopter to Primary Children’s Hospital in critical condition, Christensen said.
He added the infant remained in critical condition Tuesday, but said the infant was improving.
Layton police began the investigation, which was transferred to Weber County Sheriff’s and then to American Fork police as authorities tried to find where the alleged incident took place.
Blair was the vocalist for Cries of the Captive, a Clinton-based metal band. However, he is no longer listed as a member of the band, according to the band's Facebook page.
In a post Monday, the band wrote that it had separated from Blair “in light of recent events.” The band continued by saying they were unsure what the future of the band was.
According to the band’s bio, Blair joined as a bassist in 2012 and switched to vocals in 2013. It released its first full-length album in 2016, which was released under the North Carolina-based label Imminence Records.
The label posted late Monday that it had split with the band in April and were not associated with the band.
According to court records, Blair has no previous criminal history other than a minor traffic violation. However, Christensen said police uncovered multiple other incidents of past abuse of the infant by Blair.
