Hartford man charged in death of infant, felony bail jumping

HARTFORD -- 21-year-old Sean Schultz faces a charge of first-degree reckless homicide in the death of a nearly four-month-old boy. He's also charged with felony bail jumping.

According to the criminal complaint, Schultz had been driving a car without a license and at some point on December 14th, got involved in an accident.

When he returned to the home he shared with another woman, she called authorities to report the accident. When the authorities got to the home, the complaint indicates the woman initially lied to the deputy, stating she had been driving when the accident occurred. The deputy asked her to take them to the accident scene to describe what happened. She agreed.

While on that trip to the alleged accident scene, the complaint says the woman admitted Schultz was the actual driver involved in the accident, and that "it was her idea to try to protect him from getting more citations."

When the deputy and the woman returned to the home, Schultz was upset, indicating there was something wrong with the baby who had been crying nearly the entire time the deputy and the woman were gone.

The complaint indicates Schultz told authorities he "accidentally tripped over the corner of (the infant's seat), clipping the chair and sending (the infant) to the hardwood floor. He told authorities the infant stopped breathing. Schultz stated "he grabbed (the infant) and took him into the bedroom and performed CPR."

The complaint indicates on the day of this incident, the child was taken to the pediatric intensive care unit at Children's Hospital. Doctors say the child suffered from subdural hemorrhages and brain injury. Even though doctors were told the injury happened from the incident involving the infant seat, they concluded the injuries were not consistent with that story. Doctors say the "injuries are most consistent with abusive head trauma."

The complaint later indicates Schultz was tending to the crying infant in the minutes after the woman and the deputy left to go to the accident scene. The child was inconsolable and at one point, the complaint says Schultz "lost it and threw (the infant) onto the bed." The complaint said the infant "bounced either once or twice after landing on the bed." Schultz then indicated in the complaint that "he tried to call 911 but hung up because (the infant) started screaming and crying again." That's when Schultz says "he brought (the infant) to the living room, placed him on the couch, and tipped over the rocker chair to stage the scene of (the infant) falling out of the rocker."

The infant died on February 25, 2012 because of complications from head injuries.

If convicted of the charges, Schultz faces up to 60 years in prison.

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