Dakota EldridgeDoctors at Children's Hospital suspected Dakota Eldridge was abusing his infant son days before he was charged with attempted murder, a child protection specialist testified Thursday.
Dr. Annamaria Church told prosecutor Charlie Minor that she was called in in 2011 after the third time the child's father, Dakota Eldridge, told nurses that his son, Daniel Woodruff, wasn't breathing.
"They were concerned that something was happening to cause these symptoms and signs," Church said.
Eldridge would later tell a police interrogator that he pinched the 12-week-old boy's nose and covered his mouth on three occasions over the course of a week, according to an arrest affidavit. He is charged with first-degree attempted murder and two counts of aggravated child abuse.
The baby, Church said, suffered at least some temporary neurological damage as a result of the lack of oxygen to his brain. Eldridge's case is particularly haunting in light of two recent incidents. In those cases, the outcome was more tragic.
In late August, Raesean Lowry was charged with beating his girlfriend's 3-year-old daughter to death in the Econo Lodge on Bonny Oaks Drive. A day later, police said, Justin Dale Bradley threw his girlfriend's 3-year-old son into an empty bathtub and left him there to die.
Church's final diagnosis of Dakota Eldridge's son's strange symptoms was medical abuse and severe physical child abuse.
Church described medical abuse as the use of medical tools or the medical community to facilitate abuse.
In a hearing Thursday meant both to hear Church's testimony and to address several motions from both sides, Church detailed that diagnosis before Judge Don W. Poole.
The baby arrived at T.C. Thompson Children's Hospital at Erlanger on May 22, 2011, after a visit to Rhea Medical Center, Church said. At Rhea, the infant was treated for vomiting and was prescribed an antibiotic, Church said.
As the family was filling the prescription, they told Children's Hospital doctors, they found bloody diarrhea in the infant's diaper and took him to Children's Hospital.
Doctors didn't find any blood when they examined the child, Church said. But they admitted him for treatment. While the baby was in the hospital, Dakota Eldridge, then 19, called nurses three times to report the baby had stopped breathing and turned blue.
The first time, nurses explained to the boy's parents that infants frequently stop breathing for short periods of time. The second time, they found blood in his saliva, but no active bleeding in his mouth. They reassured his parents again. The third time, Church said, the baby was blue and required three rounds of CPR.
"The third time, the kid was out," Church said. "If left alone, he'd be dead."
The boy was taken to the pediatric intensive care unit, but his condition didn't change over several days. Doctors moved him back to the hospital's main floor, but used a heart monitor equipped with a video camera to record Eldridge moving over the boy just before his heart rate dropped, Church said.
Church said she viewed a second video recorded on a different day, which has since been lost, showing Eldridge holding the boy before his heart rate plummeted again.
Eldridge's trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 21.
Contact staff writer Claire Wiseman at cwiseman@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6347.