Florida authorities are investigating the death of a 4-month-old baby who arrived at Saint Joseph Hospital in Tampa, seriously injured.
Polk County police said the girl had been in the care of her father, Jacob Kubai, 22, who now faces murder charges.
The investigation into the case of
baby Willow Kubai
began on February 22, when she was taken to Bartow Regional Medical Center in Florida, without brain activity and with “suspicious physical injuries,” according to a statement from local police. .
When transported by helicopter to a Tampa hospital, it was determined that the child had a skull fracture, multiple layers of bleeding in the brain, bruises, scratches and broken ribs.
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“Death investigations can often take many months to complete.
In this case,
"This beautiful girl's injuries were so severe that it left no doubt as to how she was murdered,"
said Sheriff Grady Judd, in the document shared by the Polk County Sheriff's Office (PCSO), where Bartow is located.
“I don't know how a father can do this to his daughter, but I do know that he should be locked up for as long as the law allows,” he added.
Willow died after two days in the hospital.
Jacob Kubai was arrested on March 5 following the death of his 4-month-old daughter.Polk County Sheriff's Office
On March 5, his father was arrested, charged and booked into the PCSO Processing Centre.
He faces charges of aggravated homicide of a minor and aggravated child abuse, among others, according to the sheriff's office.
An inconsistent story
Before Willow arrived at the hospital, her father, who was caring for her while her mother worked, said the baby was fine, and that the two had gone to a local store around 7:00 p.m., the police statement said.
After returning home, Kubai said he fed the baby, and when he went to check on her around 8:00 pm, he discovered that she was not breathing.
However, store security video obtained by detectives revealed that Kubai entered alone.
The autopsy, according to her arrest affidavit, concluded that the baby died after suffering blunt force trauma to the head and said it was a homicide.
“Based on the injuries noted, the skull fracture would have been caused by the caregiver at that time,” the document states.
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When confronted about inconsistencies in his story, Kubai began telling detectives that neither his baby nor his wife were real, according to investigators, cited by People magazine.
Judd added that Kubai was “playing games” with investigators and showed “no remorse” or “any emotion” over the baby's death, the magazine reported.