A Pennsylvania man has been charged with the murder of his 5-month-old daughter after authorities said he shook, threw and dropped the infant over losing a video game.
Zion Isaiah Shockley, 18, has been charged with first-degree murder and related offenses for abusing his baby daughter, Rosalie Faith Crothers-Shockley, and ultimately causing her death, announced the Chester County District Attorney’s Office in a press release on Feb. 22.
Shockley was Rosalie’s primary caretaker despite having shared custody of her with the child’s mother.
According to court documents, earlier this month, the 18-year-old was so angry at a fellow video game player who called him a “failure” during a game that he threw Rosalie in the air and didn’t catch her, reported Cleveland 19 News.
“He was playing video games and got frustrated and angry because he wasn’t doing very well in the video games, so then, he took this child and shook her and dropped her, like she was a basketball,” District Attorney Tom Hogan told the news station.
Rosalie suffered a cardiac arrest and was hospitalized in a critical condition after police responded to an emergency call at Shockley’s house in Coatesville on Feb. 10, according to the District Attorney’s Office press release. She died two days later.
Doctors who treated Rosalie at the Nemours Alfred I. DuPont Hospital for Children said she was “bleeding from the brain and eyes.”
“These injuries are consistent with abusive head trauma. Such trauma is caused by both recent and ongoing abuse. At the time of her injuries, the child victim was in the exclusive control of [Shockley],” the press release stated.
Shockley admitted to dropping his child several times and shaking her, according to a criminal complaint, reported the CBS 19.
“When the defendant was being mocked by players and his reaction was to severely injure and ultimately murder his own child, that is someone who should not be in charge of a child to begin with,” said Hogan, reported the news station.
The district attorney said even though the child’s mother had shared custody with Shockley, she had done “everything she could to care for the child.”
He added in a press release, “an infant can not defend herself. A baby can not run away or call for help. A five-month-old cannot tell people what is happening to her. A baby is the most vulnerable and innocent victim possible. Now it is our job to do what this baby could not, and deliver justice to the killer.”
This was not the first time Rosalie had been abused. In December, Shockley shook his daughter violently for 5 minutes after losing a game.
Shockley is being held without bail Feb. 22 at the Chester County Prison. His preliminary hearing in court is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 28.
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