NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — A Newport News man was arrested earlier this month in the death of his 4-month-old son, police said Wednesday.
Aaron Howard-Westbrook Sr., 21, has been charged with second-degree murder, two counts of child abuse/neglect causing serious injury and malicious wounding.
The Newport News Police Department said the investigation began Oct. 6, 2023, when Child Protective Services reached out about an infant taken to a hospital with undetermined injuries.
The child later died on Nov. 1, 2023.
According to police, Howard-Westbrook's charges came after the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled the child's death a homicide on May 2 based on further medical analysis.
A criminal complaint outlines how Howard-Westbrook's care of his son allegedly landed the child in the hospital multiple times.
The first time, in late September, Howard-Westbrook’s wife reportedly came home from work to find the baby with a swollen eye and lips, adding the baby was cold to the touch. Howard-Westbrook had been home with his son. The parents brought the baby to Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters, according to the complaint.
The second time, on October 4-5, the baby couldn’t be consoled and wouldn’t take a bottle. The parents again brought the baby to the hospital.
Howard-Westbrook's wife told police a few weeks later her husband texted her about shaking the baby too hard, according to court records.
Police go on to say the baby’s father left investigators a voicemail saying he hadn't told them everything the first time they'd investigated.
According to the criminal complaint, the infant died from blunt force trauma to the head, after being "shaken, beaten or stricken." Police say doctors told them the baby’s brain injuries had irreversible damage, adding the baby had no signs of illness before those hospital visits.
Police said Howard-Westbrook was taken into custody on May 3. He will appear in court on August 1.
"Chief of Police Steve Drew would like to thank the NNPD personnel who worked diligently on this case," the police department wrote in a news release.