Eric Jason Auen Jr., 20, has been charged with child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury, according to jail records.
On Dec. 6, deputies responded to Ruby Memorial Children’s Hospital in Morgantown as a 4-month-old boy was being treated for a fractured skull and ribs, bleeding from the brain and eyes and bruising, according to a news release from the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.
The news release said investigators uncovered past incidents of suspected physical abuse that led to the child being hospitalized.
Doctors said should the boy survive, he "will most likely suffer permanent and irreversible brain damage and seizures," according to court records.
Auen claimed he "blacked out" when alone with his son on multiple occasions and failed to provide details to investigations, according to a criminal complaint filed filed in Lewis County Magistrate Court.
The complaint said medical professionals believe the injuries are believed to have been created by blunt force trauma.
The baby was also hospitalized in October with a traumatic head injury, a fractured skull and a broken arm, deputies said. During that appointment, a CPS report was made, and the baby was supposed to be seen in the Child Safety & Advocacy Clinic, but his appointment was “refused,” court documents say.
Court documents say that Auen himself was taken to the hospital on November 3rd because he had “bad thoughts,” which included “placing the infant victim on his lap and squeezing the child’s head until the child’s head ‘popped off.’”
Later in November, the baby was seen at the Stonewall Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Emergency Department for bilateral hand swelling on one occasion and a ‘rib injury’ on another, in which Auen reported “hitting the baby’s chest with his elbow while co-sleeping.”
Doctors told deputies the injuries were all the result of intentional child abuse, and deputies said the abuse occurred at Auen’s residence in the Orlando area of Lewis County.
Last edited:
