An Ottawa County man faces first-degree child abuse charges in front of a judge today stemming from an August incident involving the man’s then six-week old son.
Justin McIntyre, 23, begins his bench trial at 9:00 a.m. Tuesday in Grand Haven Circuit Court.
Bentley McIntyre was flown to a Grand Rapids hospital in August, suffering from severe brain injuries. An investigation started once it was seen the injuries were consistent with a child being severely shaken.
Bentley was released from the hospital in mid-September.
Justin McIntyre waived his preliminary hearing that same month and was being held in the Ottawa County Jail on $75,000 bond.
When proceedings began, McIntyre’s lawyer told the judge that a charge of second degree child abuse was more appropriate than the first-degree charge McIntyre faces.
In testimony, Richard Zalsman, who was in the home the night of the alleged abuse, told the court that McIntyre became increasingly frustrated as Bentley’s crying got worse. “I heard Justin yell, ‘Shut the —- up!’ And the crying stopped.”
During testimony about what McIntyre said in a police interview, it was noted that he had trouble dealing with the baby’s crying. ” “I can only take so much of him crying,” he said.
The child’s maternal grandmother took the stand and tearfully said that when she saw Bentley in McIntyre’s arms, the child wasn’t moving. She admitted that as the child was being treated at the hospital, McIntyre insisted “that he would never do anything to hurt his child.”
“I love my son. I would never hurt him ever,” McIntyre said in the police interview played in court. But in the same interview, McIntyre admitted to shaking the boy but insisted he didn’t intend to hurt the baby.
During testimony, the child’s great aunt also noted the boy wasn’t moving and described him as “lifeless.”
Bentley’s mother told the court that the infant now takes seizure medication at home. She and McIntyre had broken up three days prior to incident.
FOX 17’s Mitch Fick is in the courtroom and will provide updates throughout the trial on the web and on Twitter at @MCFick.
