Dakota EldridgeDoctors at Children’s Hospital suspected Dakota Eldridge was abusing his infant son days before he was charged with attempted murder, a child protection specialist testified Thursday.
Dr. Annamaria Church told prosecutor Charlie Minor that she was called in in 2011 after the third time the child’s father, Dakota Eldridge, told nurses that his son, Daniel Woodruff, wasn’t breathing.
“They were concerned that something was happening to cause these symptoms and signs,” Church said.
Eldridge would later tell a police interrogator that he pinched the 12-week-old boy’s nose and covered his mouth on three occasions over the course of a week, according to an arrest affidavit. He is charged with first-degree attempted murder and two counts of aggravated child abuse.
The baby, Church said, suffered at least some temporary neurological damage as a result of the lack of oxygen to his brain. Eldridge’s case is particularly haunting in light of two recent incidents. In those cases, the outcome was more tragic.