A 3 month-old baby girl is dead and her father is in jail after he punched the baby’s head because she wouldn’t stop crying and he wanted to take a nap.
Tuesday, early afternoon, at approximately 1:15 p.m., a medical call was dispatched to 200 Ave. K, SE, in Winter Haven.
The call involved a 3 month-old baby, Riley Ryon who was found unresponsive inside the apartment when her mother, Kristine Bardell,26, came home for lunch.
The father, Christopher Scott Ryon,27, had been sleeping on the couch when Bardell arrived.
According to Bardell, she went into the bedroom where the baby was laying face-down on the bed and found the baby unresponsive.
When she turned the baby over, she saw that Riley was not breathing and her face had a bluish tint.
She rushed the baby to Ryon and he started CPR while Bardell called 9-1-1.
Winter Haven detectives, who were in the vicinity, heard the call and responded immediately to the scene and assumed CPR while Winter Haven Fire and EMS were en-route.
When EMS arrived, they took over CPR and transported the baby to Winter Haven Hospital where she was pronounced deceased.
Yesterday, Dr. Nelson with the District 10 Medical Examiner’s Office conducted an autopsy and concluded the baby had a skull fracture, indicative of a blunt force trauma.
Winter Haven Police detectives interviewed the father and he admitted to hitting the baby in the head because she wouldn’t stop crying when he wanted to lie down to take a nap.
Christopher Scott Ryon was placed under arrest and charged with Aggravated Manslaughter of a Child.
