MUNCIE, Ind. — A 3-year-old boy is in a coma after he was pushed down stairs by a member of his household.
Antonio Austin Riviera-Manship, 24, was arrested and charged with two counts of battery, three counts of neglect, two counts of aggravated battery and a count of obstruction of justice after the 3-year-old suffered serious injuries due to the fall.
Riviera-Manship, who lives with the child’s mother, was watching the boy while she was away.
During a 911 call, Riviera-Manship told police he was upstairs when he heard the child tumble down the stairs and onto the landing. He told authorities the boy appeared to be unconscious after he hit the floor.
Medical personnel who treated the boy said his injuries were not consistent with an unprovoked fall, WXIN reported.
Riviera-Manship later told investigators he had lied about the incident and had pushed the child after becoming overwhelmed in an argument about what the child would eat.
According to WXIN, the boy suffered two subdermal brain bleeds and has been placed in a medically-induced coma.
In interview with officials, Riviera-Manship detailed other incidents of abuse, including incidents in which he shook the child to get him to listen to directions and pinned him on the ground to teach him a lesson.
Read more at WXIN.
Cox Media Group
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