Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — A Holladay man has admitted to further hurting his 4-month-old daughter out of frustration from her crying after a heater fell on her and burned her.
Elijah Malykeshabazz Jodejuan, 24, pleaded guilty this week to child abuse, reduced to a third-degree felony, and one count of second-degree felony child abuse was dismissed as part of a plea deal.
Prosecutors say Jodejuan was caring for the girl on Nov. 4 and set her in a carrier in front of a space heater while he took a shower, when the child apparently grabbed a power cord and pulled the heater on top of herself. When he got out of the shower, Jodejuan found "the heater was stuck" to the young girl who was "screaming like bloody murder," charges state.
Jodejuan said he became "frustrated" by the burns and pushed a bottle into his daughter's mouth "pretty hard" while trying to feed her.
The girl's mother said she was at work and "started getting odd text messages" from Jodejuan, saying that "everything would turn out all right with the baby," charges state.
When the mother got home, Jodejuan told her "not to look at the baby," and then locked himself in a room with the infant, the charges state. The mother told police she could hear her daughter screaming but Jodejuan wouldn't let her in. When she finally got into the room, the baby was in a closet.
When the girl was taken to the hospital, doctors found a "patterned grid burn mark" on her forehead, in addition to other bruises and injuries, including injuries to the inside of her mouth, the charges state.
Jodejuan told police he becomes "detached" and doesn't respond right away to the baby's crying, though he knows she can get hurt during that time. Jodejuan said he "feels like a complete idiot" for letting it happen more than once.
In exchange for Jodejuan's plea, prosecutors agreed to recommend that the charge against him may be stepped down to a misdemeanor if he successfully completes probation. Sentencing in the case is scheduled for July 18.
