Story to watch: Man held in beating of 9-month old baby -- ex-military

[magellan]

Here's the sad story as of tonight:

http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Date=20071223&Category=BREAKINGNEWS&ArtNo=71223011&Ref=AR

A 9-month-old boy is in critical condition at Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children & Women in Orlando today after doctors and detectives determined he was severely beaten by his mother’s boyfriend, Palm Bay Police said.

Jason Welch, 25, was charged with aggravated child abuse. He is being held on a $125,000 bond at the Brevard County jail after appearing before a judge this morning.

Around 7:52 p.m. Saturday, police arrived at Palm Bay Hospital’s emergency room where doctors were treating a baby with severe head trauma and bruises on its body, police spokeswoman Yvonne Martinez said.

The baby had a large bruise and welt over his right eye, bruises on the left side of his face and severe bruises on his lower back and buttocks consistent with being beaten with a hand or object, she said.

What isn't reported in these stories but we heard on the local news earlier: Jason Welch is ex-military and it's claimed he reacts violently to loud noises.

The victims of Bush**'s war of choice keep on multiplying. Now a 9-month old boy, who is in critical condition.

[Selatius]

1. Given his age, yeah, I'd say it's a pretty good bet he went through hell in Iraq.

He needs mental health counseling before he snaps.

[magellan]

2. He snapped already

He's in jail for beating this child to within an inch of his young life. The baby's injuries are "severe and life-threatening" according to the hospital.

We'll have to see if more comes out about Welch's mental condition. PTSD seems obvious, but did he seek treatment anywhere and if so was he turned away? Many questions to be answered.

[NanceGreggs]

3. Unfortunately, there is no need to watch THIS story ...

... because there will be many more like it to follow.

[Bobbieo]

4. God damn Bush to Hell - This story is just the tip of the iceberg.

Not all men are born to be warriors!

[NanceGreggs]

5. And not all men who become warriors ...

... can handle the nightmares that will haunt their dreams forever.

You're right -- this IS just the tip of the iceberg.

[Bobbieo]

6. I knew a Lt Colonel who served in Vietnam who told me

told me he was afraid to sleep with his wife because he would awaken from nightmares and was beating her up.

This man was a West Point graduate.

War is hell!

[proud2BlibKansan]

7. My dad kicked my mom out of bed at least once a week

Physically kicked her to the floor. She just laughed and teased him about kicking her out of the foxhole.

You bet war is hell.

[rug]

8. Anybody who beats a nine month old baby is not a victim.

[emilyg]

9. Not in my book.

[Bobbieo]

10. Oh really and you just got home from a 2 year stint in Iraq, right? Gee!

What is your secret to stability?

[rug]

11. Well, Bobbieo, all you really know from the story is that this guy worked in Walmart.

What is the secret to your infomation, Bobbie?

[Bobbieo]

12. It's no secret - Jason Welch is ex-military and he reacts to loud noises

Try walking in his moccasins

[rug]

13. Ex-military what? Why don't you put on your moccasins and find out if he was ever in Iraq?

[Bobbieo]

14. You started this 'not a victim' trend. Why don't you find out if he was ever in Iraq.

Maybe he's a fuckin speed freak!

[rug]

15. You're right. That poor man who beat the shit out of this baby.

[Bobbieo]

16. Maybe he's both and you know what Rug - there is going to be alot of them

coming home from the Middle East and that is what scares the livin hell out of me.

[rug]

17. Probably, although they'll probably do much more harm to themselves than others.

[Bobbieo]

18. Future headlines will tell the story!!!

[NOLALady]

21. Hmmmm

Last time I checked babies were a good source for loud noises. Mr ex military should have kept his ass away from babies.

[magellan]

19. As I said in the OP, I heard that Welch was ex-military on the local news last night

Because of that, I found the story online and shared it here. I haven't been able to confirm that he's ex-military or the other piece of information Channel 9 shared, that he reacts badly to loud noises.

That Channel 9 News said it and I heard it doesn't make it true, nor is it offered as an excuse for what Welch did. But if it is true, his age (25) makes it very likely he served in Iraq or Afghanistan.

[robcon]

20. And from that thin shred of evidence, you concluded the "reason" for his violence????

Stupid, awful, jumping to conclusions. Let's get a little "reality-based" shall we?

[magellan]

22. You're rude

Merry Christmas.

[robcon]

25. You're too sensitive, magellan.

You jumped to a totally unsupported conclusion. When you did that you made a smear against the military, which, I judge, was your purpose.

The attack on the baby is bad enough; your evidence-free attack on the military is sick, IMO.

[magellan]

27. I'm not the one jumping to conclusions, robcon

How you could possibly read an attack on the military into what I wrote is beyond me, unless you were looking for insult. And even then, the last line in my OP should have made it clear my problem is with BUSH**, not the military.

Further, the impression I shared wasn't "totally unsupported". As I've said twice now, and will again, I heard the report of this incident on our local news. At the end of the piece they said Welch was ex-military and that he reportedly reacts badly to loud noises. I couldn't find any mention of these things in the online stories and said so in the OP.

Whatever your problem is, it's yours, not mine.

[tuckessee]

23. If he gets to beat a baby because of two years in Iraq

I wonder what the Iraqis are allowed to do to their kids after suffering 4 1/2 years of the likes of Mr. Welch.

[abbeyco]

24. I can appreciate that he was in Iraq...

However, at some point, he knew he was hurting another human being - a child that had no defense to him.

I'm sorry for what he may have encountered in Iraq; however, his experiences do not give him a pass to beat and kill an infant.

Let me state my bias before you flame me: liberal on most social causes, including the right for a mother to choose - and a returning soldier doesn't come under MY perview of getting a pass on inflicting abuse on a child.

If he killed a child, let them take into account his mental status and then look at the rest of the picture.


Regardless, people, a baby that didn't need to die died at the hand of his parents.

abbeyco

[magellan]

28. It wasn't my intention to give him a pass

When I said at the end of the OP "The victims of Bush**'s war of choice keep on multiplying. Now a 9-month old boy, who is in critical condition", I wasn't letting Welch off the hook. I purposely didn't mention him because he's responsible for what he did no matter what drove him to it.

However, if it's true that Welch was in the military and this incident is a direct result of that experience, to my mind he can be both victim and criminal.

[Fierce]

26. Eh, I've seen enough stories about young men

beating their girlfriends' babies to death that I don't need to blame this one on Bush.

I mean, "it's claimed"? Seriously, did his mom come up with that? If only the baby had just SHUT UP!

[magellan]

29. The news report didn't indicate who said it

And I'm not a journalist. I merely shared the story along with what I heard on the local news, and my feelings about it.