Baby Brought to Connecticut Children's Medical Center With Severe Injuries Has Died

A 6-week-old baby girl who was brought to Connecticut Children’s Medical Center with severe injuries last week died Monday morning, according to police.

Police identified the baby as Emily Babilonia. Her injuries included cranial bleeding, bruising to the brain, bruising on both sides of her jaw and rib fractures, according to police and court paperwork. She had been placed on life support, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.

She was pronounced dead at 9:40 a.m. Monday, according to police, and the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will conduct an autopsy.

Police arrested the parents, 23-year-old Edwin Babilonia and 20-year-old Ashley Perez, of Hartford, on Friday and prosecutors called the case "heinous."

The investigation started when police responded to Connecticut Children’s Medical Center on Thursday to investigate and officers spoke with Perez, who said the baby was unusual throughout the night.

The court paperwork is redacted but it says Perez told them she woke up around 3 a.m. and the baby would not stop crying, so she and Babilonia took turns passing the baby back and forth to try to calm her down and the baby fell back to sleep around 4 a.m.

Then the baby woke up again at 6 a.m., so Perez tried to reach the pediatrician, but no appointments were available until 12:30 p.m., so they brought her to Connecticut Children’s Medical Center.

Because of the severity of the baby’s injuries, police brought the parents to the police station to interview them.

Perez told police that the baby was crying and she thought she was hungry. After several attempts to calm the infant down, Edwin Babilonia told Perez to give him the baby, but he was holding her awkwardly and dropped her, according to police paperwork.

As the baby cried and screamed, Edwin Babilonia grabbed her and took her to the bathroom and turned on the faucet, Perez said, according to police. Then she heard choking and gargling and Babilonia said to keep calm and shut up. Then, Perez said, she heard a thud and crying.

When Edwin Babilonia came out of the bathroom, he handed the baby to Perez and went to sleep, the court paperwork says.

The baby was limp and wheezing and Perez said she put her in the crib, watched her for a few minutes and then went to sleep. When she woke up again, they called the pediatrician, then got into the car to bring the baby to the hospital, according to court records.

On the ride over, they discussed what they were going to tell the doctors and police and she claimed Edwin Babilonia told her to lie and not blame him, according to Perez’s account in the incident report.

Edwin Babilonia initially said Perez had abused the baby on several occasions, but police confronted him about inconsistencies in the statements and he confessed to accidentally dropping the baby and washing her face, according to police.

Then he said he woke Perez, told her the baby was not right and they needed to go to the hospital and she told him to wait for the pediatrician, but then they brought her to the hospital, according to police.

In an interview on Friday morning, police said the baby’s injuries appeared to have happened over several days.

The baby is a twin and the twin is in custody of the state Department of Children and Families after being evaluated.

Edwin Babilonia and Perez were initially charged with risk of injury to a minor and cruelty to persons. Officials said neither parent had a prior record and that officials from DCF said they had no prior involvement with the family.

Police have also charged Edwin Babilonia and Perez with first-degree assault and protective orders have been issued. They are due back in court on June 8.

The Hartford Police Department is working with the Connecticut State's Attorney's Office to determine appropriate charges following the child's death.

Edwin Babilonia's attorney said his client claims the kids were having trouble sleeping and the injuries were accidental.