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Hernando County father arrested in death of 2-month-old son

Hernando County father arrested in death of 2-month-old son
Posted at 4:18 PM, Oct 26, 2017
and last updated 2017-10-26 16:19:40-04

A Hernando County man was arrested in the death of his 2-month-old son, which was ruled a homicide due to extensive injuries.

It started on July 19 at about 5:30 p.m. when the Hernando County Sheriff's Office responded to a call from Miles Anchondo Sr., who said his 2-month-old infant wasn't breathing.

RELATED: Parents arrested in death of one-month-old infant in Hernando County

Anchondo said he had taken the infant out of the bath and he was now naked on the floor.

When deputies arrived, they did find the baby naked on the floor, but he was dry, contradicting the man's statement to the 9-11 operator. Deputies also saw what they believed to be marijuana in plain view in the living room.

The infant was transported to Bayfront Health Spring Hill, where initial assessments and CT scans revealed a low white blood count, skull fractures on both sides of his head and a brain bleed. Physicians also said the baby appeared to have a healing rib fracture.

The baby was airlifted to All Children's Hospital.

Anchondo told detectives he put the infant in a stroller next to the bed and fell asleep. He said he awoke to what he thought was the infant crying or coughing, only to find him limp.

The detective noted some other discrepancies in what he told him compared to the 9-1-1 call.

Anchondo did also admit to smoking marijuana the day before and said he knocked over a small bong while he was trying to help the infant. He told the detective he kicked the broken pieces of the bong under the sofa.

Later at the sheriff's office, Anchondo told detectives he was carrying the baby when "he hit his head hard on the door jamb," and that after that the baby fell asleep easily.

He said he knew the baby needed medical attention but was going to wait for his girlfriend to get home.

He also said that a few weeks earlier while pushing the infant in the stroller "back and forth hard and fast," the child lunged forward and hit his head on the rails of the stroller. Anchondo also told detectives he had dropped the infant on his head on the tile floor.

The mother of the child was also interviewed and said she saw minor bruising and questioned the father, but he told her the baby must have been sleeping on his pacifier, causing the marks.

The baby died two days after the 9-1-1 call.

The autopsy report on Miles Anchondo Jr. revealed a left parietal skull fracture, brain and spinal cord injuries of varying stages, retinal and optic nerve sheath hemorrhages, healing fractures of the right seventh, and left sixth ribs, recent fractures of the right fifth and sixth ribs, and pulmonary congestion, edema, and focal acute pneumonia.

Detectives concluded the incident described by the father wasn't consistent with the infant's injuries, and that he must have suffered ongoing physical abuse, resulting in his death.

Anchondo was arrested and charged with murder while engaged in certain felony offenses and aggravated child abuse. He is being held with no bond.