Local 4 News is investigating a case of child abuse, in which police say a suffocated girl was brought back to life by her abuser.
It starts with the attempted murder of a little girl in Galesburg that went unreported for at least two years.
Now, police are pressing charges against 30-year-old Joshua Hasselbacher — the man they say is responsible.
The Knox County Sheriff’s Department served him an arrest warrant last week for attempted murder. Hasselbacher is already serving time in Stateville Correctional Center for another crime.
A 26-page arrest report from the sheriff’s department details a disturbing case of abuse.
Police records don’t give an exact date for the incident. Interviewees said it either happened in 2015, 2016 or possibly 2017. It happened at the Country Elms Estates, where Joshua Hasselbacher lived with his then-girlfriend, her two sons and daughter.
At least eight people told authorities one day Hasselbacher killed his girlfriends daughter and “brought her back to life.”
The girl’s brothers told police it started when their sister, who is now six, wouldn’t stop crying.
Hasselbacher ran her into the kitchen, put her head in the freezer, closed the door and held her there for an hour.
The girl “cried the whole time,” according to reports.
When Hasselbacher pulled her out, one of the brothers said his sister’s face was purple.
Then Hasselbacher took her to his bed where he suffocated her with a pillow.
A friend of Hasselbacher told police Hasselbacher later confided in him saying, “I beat the s*** out of her, put a pillow over her face and smothered her, then did CPR and brought her back.”
Police interviews revealed that Hasselbacher also called his father, James Hasselbacher, during the incident and told him the girl had “lost her breath” and he revived her.
Hasselbacher told the girl’s mom she passed out and was probably bit by a spider or had low iron.
But the mom noticed the girl had black eyes, “but didn’t think much more of the incident at that time.”
When she found out the truth later she didn’t call police because “she didn’t want to believe it,” but she did tell her mom.
Then in fall 2016, police records say the girl’s mom told Hasselbacher’s parents what happened.
Hasselbacher also told a friend after suffocating the girl “she looked at him and told him that ‘It’s OK!’ which broke his heart.'”
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Suffocated girl brought back to life in child abuse case
GALESBURG, Illinois — Local 4 News is investigating a case of child abuse, in which police say a suffocated girl was brought back to life by her abuser. It starts with the attempted murder of…
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I would read article at link - it is surprising the baby survived