Father Pleads Guilty In Death Of Boy

Father Pleads Guilty In Death Of Boy By Trish Mehaffey The Morning News April 18, 2006 FAYETTEVILLE -- A 26-year-old Springdale man pleaded guilty Monday in Washington County Circuit Court to the first-degree murder of his 3-month-old son who died from a skull fracture and lacerated liver. Alfonso Chavero-Raimundo was sentenced to 30 years, with 17 suspended, and will serve 13 years in the Arkansas Department of Correction. He was given 514 days' credit for the time he has been in jail since November 2004. Chavero-Raimundo, who does not speak English, made his plea through an interpreter. He didn't speak outside the pleading. Matt Durrett, deputy prosecutor, said the charge was initially manslaughter because police believed it was a case of shaken-baby syndrome. The child, Kevin Chavero, had retinal hemorrhaging, bruising of his chest and red marks like fingerprints on his sides, near the ribs, which are consistent with baby shaking. Chavero-Raimundo admitted to police he shook the baby on Nov. 18, 2004, because the child wouldn't stop crying, according to a police report. He said he grabbed the baby with both hands, squeezed him and shook him for two or three minutes. He was taking care of the infant while his wife was at work. Durrett said the charges were changed when the medical examiner's report came back and stated the manner of death was homicide. Frank Peretti, state medical examiner, stated in his report that the injuries were consistent with "slammed baby" -- meaning the baby's head was slammed against a hard surface. Chavero-Raimundo told police the baby rolled off the bed and landed on wooden boards on the floor, according to a police report. Durrett said he asked medical experts if a fall like that would create such injuries and they all agreed that it wouldn't be consistent with the injuries of this child. Durrett said nobody knows what specifically happened, because Chavero-Raimundo confessed only to shaking the child.