A 4-month-old Morton baby is on life support and the ex-boyfriend of the baby's mother is in the Lewis County Jail on assault charges after he allegedly injured the infant, giving it shaken baby syndrome.
The child's mother, Llacye Faye Link, was not home at the time of the alleged assault, which occurred on Oct. 2, because she had left the house to go buy marijuana, according to court documents.
The ex-boyfriend, a 22-year-old Mineral man identified as Kyle J. Davison, told police that the baby had started choking on food and he panicked and shook the baby in an attempt to save it, according to court documents. He then brought the baby over to a neighbor's house who attempted CPR and called 911.
The baby was transported to Morton General Hospital then later lifeflighted to Mary Bridge Children's Hospital where the child was later put on life-support to assist with breathing, according to court documents.
A doctor told police that the baby was suffering from "non-accidental injury consistent with 'shaken baby syndrome,'" according to court documents. Early tests indicated the child suffered from an intracranial hemorrhage.
Morton police arrested Davison Oct. 4 at his grandmother’s house in Mineral, according to court documents. Davison told police he and Link had gone to a restaurant at about 9 p.m. that night and he drank two or three beers at that time. When they left, they went to Link's apartment at the Cherry Lane Apartments in Morton.
At about 11 p.m., they made arrangements to go get a bag of pot, and Link left to purchase it, according to court documents.
Davison said when she left, he was changing the baby into pajamas when the baby started choking on the food, court documents state.
Initially, Davison said he did not shake the baby, but after Morton Police Chief Dan Mortensen continued questioning him, Davison allegedly said, "I knew better, I knew better, I shouldn't have done that, I knew better."
He said when the baby choked, he picked her up and shook her, court documents state.
First-degree assault of a child is a class A felony that carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.
