A tragic incident in Indiana has captured attention after a father allegedly bit his newborn daughter when her cries couldn’t be soothed. The baby, left bruised in a manner described vividly as resembling a “busted up egg,” is at the center of a court case revealed in a probable cause affidavit sent to Oxygen.
Eighteen-year-old Kaden Manuel Lewis Shrum is facing serious charges of battery causing injury to a person under 14, categorized as a level 5 felony. The charge, documented in a Monroe County court filing obtained by Oxygen, highlights the severity of the allegations.
Although Shrum has entered a not guilty plea as documented in court records, the affidavit notes that he reportedly admitted to both relatives and social workers from the Department of Child Services that he was indeed responsible for biting the infant.
Concerns escalated on July 15 when a pediatrician alerted the Department of Child Services to a suspicious mark on a 9-day-old baby’s face. According to the affidavit, the bruise — alarming and unusual — was described as “suspicious” and suspected to be from a bite, with ring-like markings encompassing her entire left cheek indicative of dental impressions.
Initially, Shrum explained to authorities that the mark might have been caused by his daughter sleeping on her pacifier. He mentioned that he and the child’s mother were planning to have the infant examined at a scheduled weigh-in appointment the next day.
However, police noted in the affidavit that it was “highly improbable” that a pacifier caused the injury based on the pattern and force.
Shrum eventually admitted that his daughter had been fussing and crying and would not sleep, so in trying to calm her down, he “nibbled” on her cheek.
“He demonstrated how he took the skin of her cheek into his mouth,” according to the affidavit, “and repeatedly bit down on it in a chomping motion.”
Shrum said that he regularly “nibbles” the baby and that while he intentionally bit her, he did not intend to harm her, according to the affidavit. He explained that he accidentally bit down too hard after taking too much of her skin between his teeth and that this was the first time he had caused an injury.
“She’s so small and delicate,” Shrum told police, as written in the affidavit. “She’s like a busted-up egg.”
Shrum was arrested and booked into the Monroe County Jail. He has since been released after posting bond, a spokesperson from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department told Oxygen.
He will next appear in court on September 1, court records show. Oxygen could not locate his attorney