Pregnant woman had boyfriend punch stomach to kill baby, police say

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — The parents of an infant who died shortly after birth are accused of intentionally killing the child by inflicting wounds while she was still in the womb, according to court documents. 

The parents – who were not identified in the documents – arrived at Kern Medical on May 24 to deliver the baby.  

After delivery, medical staff found the child to be suffering from a fractured skull and spinal injuries, the reports said. 

She died shortly after. 

Kern Medical staff also noticed “severe bruising” on the mother’s stomach, which she initially attributed to a fall, according to court documents. 

The staff called police following the baby’s death. 

After being questioned by officers, the mother eventually admitted she and her boyfriend intentionally caused the injury to her stomach to harm their unborn baby, the documents said. 

The mother and her boyfriend agreed they did not want to have the child, and she instructed him to squeeze and punch her stomach “at least 10 times,” according to an affidavit. 

She told police she eventually no longer felt the baby moving. 

Her boyfriend denies ever striking the mother or harming his unborn child. 

The Kern County District Attorney is still investigating the incident and has not decided whether to file charges against the parents. 

California penal code defines murder as the unlawful killing of a human being or a fetus with malice aforethought, but with the provision that the law does not apply to any person who commits an act that results in the death of a fetus if the act was solicited, aided, abetted, or consented to by the mother.