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San Jose Father Charged With Murder For Death Of Infant Daughter

SAN JOSE (CBS SF) -- A San Jose father appeared in court on a murder charge Friday for the death of his 6-week-old baby daughter, who died early Friday morning from injuries he allegedly inflicted on her on Saturday.

 

Matthew Zabala, 32, was present at Friday afternoon's hearing at the Hall of Justice in San Jose where he was arraigned on charges of murder,
assault likely to cause death and inflicting corporal injury on the child's mother, Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Stacey Capps said.

The baby was identified as Mila Zabala, who died of her injuries just before 1 a.m., according to a statement of facts on the case filed by sheriff's Detective Matthew Peyton.

Zabala was represented in court Friday by the Santa Clara County Public Defender's Office and stood next to a door out of sight from the public.

Superior Court Judge Shelyna Brown set Zabala's bail at $1 million and scheduled him to return to court on Thursday for a plea hearing.

Zabala faces life in prison if convicted, according to Capps.

"This is the worst, worst scenario that can happen in a domestic abuse case. An innocent person has lost their life," Capps said.

The child's traumatic brain injury appears to be the cause of her death, according to Capps.

Zabala told investigators that Mila possibly suffered the skull fracture when he used force to remove her from a car seat placed on a couch and fell over last Saturday, Peyton said.

In the process, the girl's head struck the car seat's carry handle, according to Peyton.

Zabala stated he was frustrated while taking the child out of the car seat and the baby cried in pain for about 20 minutes, Peyton said.

On Sunday around 1:50 p.m., Mila's mother had called 911 to report the baby girl wasn't breathing at their home and performed CPR under the guidance of a dispatcher on the phone, Peyton said.

Emergency crews and deputies responded to the home where they found the infant was unconscious and transported her to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, according to Peyton.

Doctors provided Mila with intubation and other life-saving efforts, then placed her in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Peyton said.

Doctors found the girl had no brain activity and was sent to the emergency room, where she didn't breathe for about 30 minutes, according to Peyton.

Medical personnel also took X-rays that showed Mila had multiple fractures on her body at different stages of healing, which showed she might have suffered the injuries in separate instances, Peyton said.

On Monday, doctors took an MRI of the child's head that indicated her skull fracture didn't appear to be an accident, according to Peyton.

Mila's doctor said the baby needed to undergo other tests including for a genetic disorder that may account for her fractures, according to Peyton.

Zabala and the child's mother have dated each other for five years, live together and besides Mila have no other children together, Peyton said.

The woman told investigators about Zabala's history with domestic abuse during the relationship, according to Peyton.

The mother wasn't sure how Mila was injured, but said Zabala was known to be "too rough" with the baby, Peyton said.

Earlier this week, the sheriff's office sent its severe child injury response team to the hospital to investigate what may have lead up to the child's injuries, sheriff's Sgt. James Jensen said.

Detectives went to the suspect's home in the first block of Boston Avenue near West San Carlos Street in unincorporated San Jose.

Investigators interviewed the baby's biological parents and arrested Zabala, who was booked into Santa Clara County Main Jail on Wednesday, Jensen said.

Zabala had a prior conviction for child abuse out of Santa Clara County, but there were no orders that prevented him from seeing the baby, Sheriff Laurie Smith said.

"It's such as tragic case anytime there's a dead baby," Smith said.

Zabala attended Gilroy High School and was part of the class of 2002, according to his Facebook page.

The Sheriff's Office and Valley Medical Center Foundation are raising money for the baby's funeral. Any contributions leftover after the service will be sent to the hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit that helps premature babies and infants soon after birth.

© Copyright 2016 by CBS San Francisco and Bay City News Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed

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