22.9.04

Warning to Babies Everywhere

YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan -- Seaman Robert Howard sat on his tiny baby to shut him up, playing Pokémon on his Game Boy as the infant suffocated and died beneath him, Howard testified on Monday.

In the base's main courtroom, Howard, a 21-year-old hospital corpsman who'd been assigned to the USS Kitty Hawk, pleaded guilty to the March 9 murder of his 28-day-old son, Logan. Howard also pleaded guilty to assault and aggravated assault for attacks on the baby days before the killing, including one in which he strangled Logan until he lost consciousness and another in which he suffocated the infant with his hand until he saw the color drain from the infant's face.

Howard also admitted to sitting on the infant's chest on a previous occasion, saying he was practicing wrestling moves he'd seen on television. He seemed to be enjoying the moves," Howard said. "He didn't seem to be hurt."

"Please tell me why it is you decided to sit on him," military Judge John Maksym said to Howard.

“He was making some noise. He was a little fussy," Howard said. “I wanted complete concentration for the game."


- in Stars & Stripes, via Waxy.org: Links

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