A Pensacola man has been arrested in connection to the death of an 8-month-old earlier this week after an autopsy revealed five fractures in the infant’s skull.
Courtland Ahmad Freeman, 32, was arrested and charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child and aggravated child abuse.
The 8-month-old boy was transported Sept. 10 to Sacred Heart Hospital after he stopped breathing, according to Freeman's arrest report.
Medical staff discovered the child had a fractured skull and severe retinal hemorrhaging, and the infant had to be incubated to stay alive.
The boy was pronounced dead six days later on Sept. 16. An autopsy the following day found that the infant had suffered five separate skull fractures, the report stated.
Escambia County Sheriff's Office investigators arrested Freeman after determining the infant’s "significant injuries" occurred while the child was Freeman's care, the arrest report states.
When deputies investigated the death, they spoke with a woman who told them that she woke up around 6:30 a.m. Sept. 10 to feed the infant. The woman said the baby was "fussy" and crying but otherwise seemed OK, the report stated.
The woman said she left the child in Freeman’s care around 7 a.m., when she left the residence to drive his daughter to school, the report stated.
At approximately 7:10 a.m., Freeman called the woman’s cellphone to tell his daughter that he loved her, the report stated. While speaking to his daughter, Freeman abruptly hung up the phone, the woman told authorities.
At 7:23 a.m., the woman told investigators she received a call from her grandmother telling her to rush back home because the infant was not breathing and 911 had been called, the report stated.
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