VERNAL, Utah — A 26-year-old Vernal man been booked into jail for homicide in connection with the death of his six-month-old son last summer.
According to a statement from the Uintah County Sheriff’s Office, Chad Lewis Rogers told investigators he heard the baby choking after feeding him with a bottle. Rogers said he then shook his son on his shoulder “like all parents do” when burping babies, the statement said.
“When the infant went limp, [Rogers] placed him in his crib and shook his shoulder’s slightly, trying to get him to wake up,” the statement said.” “At one point Rogers told investigators that ‘maybe I did it too hard’.”
Emergency crews responded to a Uintah County home on August 24, 2014 on a report of an infant boy who wasn’t breathing. The baby was transported to Ashley Regional Medical Center, then to Primary Children’s Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
An autopsy performed at the Utah State Medical Center showed the boy had suffered forced trauma to his head, causing a brain stem injury and hemorrhaging in the brain.
Police said the information provided to investigators was consistent with doctor’s reports at both Ashley Regional Hospital and Primary Children’s Hospital.
Rogers is being held without bail at the Uintah County Jail.
