Father kills infant son..

[bali1228]

All I can say is OMG, what is this world coming to? Why wasn't this man given the support he needed? By the Marine Corp, Social services...anyone? Sad , sad case. Mom dies of an aneurysm while giving birth, father is recalled from Iraq to receive custody of infant and his 18month old sister. Dad broke the baby's arm and CPS investigated...he was returned to his custody. The child died of blunt force trauma....absolute tragedy all around

Local News Says a Marine Back from Iraq Arrested for Killing His Infant Son - Associated Content - associatedcontent.com

[kval07]

Wow. That's terrible.

I have to say, coming home from Iraq and trying to re-integrate in to the "real world" is extremely difficult. Some people really have no idea. Anger issues, depression, anxiety...the whole ball of wax...and you're just thrown back in to it. When I came home I had all of that. I threw a glass against the wall and smashed it in to a billion pieces one time because I was so angry.

I can't imagine feeling the way I was when I came home AND trying to deal with a wife who passed as well as learning to be a single parent.

I really truly believe the military does not do enough to reintegrate soldiers when they come home from war zones. I don't know the whole story, but I cannot imagine coming home from Iraq didn't impact any of this guys actions. It is very easy to go in to fits of anger and rage over nothing and have no control over what you are doing.

I am also a firm believer in the military doing health follow ups and forcing soldiers to show up for them, right when we come home, and then every 2-3 months for the next year or so. There is a stigma with soldiers asking for help. And if you aren't active duty, the resources aren't right there in front of your face either. And once you find them, it takes forever to get an appointment. When I first called the VA a few years ago, I was on the verge of a mental breakdown because I was just so unbelievably stressed out. The first they could see me: one month. For someone who is on the verge, one month is WAY too long.

[mom24stinkers]

That is heartbreaking :(. I agree that he should have had a lot more support and help, I can't imagine what he must have gone through.

[bali1228]

Wow. That's terrible.

I have to say, coming home from Iraq and trying to re-integrate in to the "real world" is extremely difficult. Some people really have no idea. Anger issues, depression, anxiety...the whole ball of wax...and you're just thrown back in to it. When I came home I had all of that. I threw a glass against the wall and smashed it in to a billion pieces one time because I was so angry.

I can't imagine feeling the way I was when I came home AND trying to deal with a wife who passed as well as learning to be a single parent.

I really truly believe the military does not do enough to reintegrate soldiers when they come home from war zones. I don't know the whole story, but I cannot imagine coming home from Iraq didn't impact any of this guys actions. It is very easy to go in to fits of anger and rage over nothing and have no control over what you are doing.

I am also a firm believer in the military doing health follow ups and forcing soldiers to show up for them, right when we come home, and then every 2-3 months for the next year or so. There is a stigma with soldiers asking for help. And if you aren't active duty, the resources aren't right there in front of your face either. And once you find them, it takes forever to get an appointment. When I first called the VA a few years ago, I was on the verge of a mental breakdown because I was just so unbelievably stressed out. The first they could see me: one month. For someone who is on the verge, one month is WAY too long.

It's like this poor guy had a perfect storm of issues that caused this..any one of the things he was experiencing could have caused this. The loss of his wife, single parenthood with a new baby, coming back from the war.... I'm not condoning his actions but I can't help but have sympathy for this man. Kval thank you for your service.

[Shy2481]

What he did was definately not right at all but i wonder if he held some resentment toward the child for his wife dying, and this is why he was acting this way to him. I can never understand how someone could hurt an innocent child like that. I wonder what ever happened to him (his punishment), it shows this happened in 2006.

[leqet]

This is so sad. Made me think of that woman in SC that killed her two babies and then tried to cover it up by driving her car into the river. I think mental illness is to blame in both cases, just for different reasons/different manifestations.

[hburnette3]

This is so sad. Made me think of that woman in SC that killed her two babies and then tried to cover it up by driving her car into the river. I think mental illness is to blame in both cases, just for different reasons/different manifestations.

are you talking about Susan Smith? The only sad part about that was she was not in the car also. I was sad for her children but not her.

[Macaela25]

are you talking about Susan Smith? The only sad part about that was she was not in the car also. I was sad for her children but not her.

No, she isn't...a young woman in SC just murdered her two little boys and pushed the car in the river to cover it up on what...Tuesday? Just a few days ago.

[leqet]

No, she isn't...a young woman in SC just murdered her two little boys and pushed the car in the river to cover it up on what...Tuesday? Just a few days ago.

Yes that's the case I was talking about. I'm not saying mentally ill people deserve a pass for their behavior, but I'm saying I think only a mentally ill person could purposely kill their children. From the news articles I read she was depressed and struggling financially and saw the kids as a burden. This woman needed help in more ways than one. It's sad that she did that instead of getting help (whether she reached out for help or not I don't know, either way it's really sad).

[PHmom]

What he did was definately not right at all but i wonder if he held some resentment toward the child for his wife dying, and this is why he was acting this way to him. I can never understand how someone could hurt an innocent child like that. I wonder what ever happened to him (his punishment), it shows this happened in 2006.

I was curious too, since this was several years ago - the most recent thing I can find is from 2007, nothing about a trial or verdict.

The piece from 2007 was an interview with him - whoever made the "perfect storm" comparison was right on - he and his wife married and had kids very young, then he joined the Marines, went to Iraq, got a call that his wife gave birth to their second child and the child was fine but she was on life support - he flew home and she died. He had basically never had anything to do with raising the first child (being deployed) so was just completely overwhelmed with two to raise by himself. He really needed help badly and didn't get it from anywhere. I think Kval is right on with the follow up suggestion - especially in a situation like this, there should've been some type of home visits maybe even.