Marine who shook infant sentenced to nine years

[thedrifter]

Marine who shook infant sentenced to nine years


SIGNONSANDIEGO NEWS SERVICES
5:51 p.m. August 27, 2003

SAN DIEGO ? A former Marine who repeatedly shook his 7-week-old daughter out of frustration, causing a serious brain injury that may prevent her from ever walking, was sentenced today to nine years in state prison.

Joshua Zubrod, 22, pleaded guilty to child endangerment causing great bodily injury.

Defense attorney Kevin Milmoe, arguing for probation, told Superior Court Judge William Mudd that Zubrod had no parenting skills and couldn't deal with his screaming baby.

"He made a tremendous error, and regrets it to this day," Milmoe told the judge. "If he goes to state prison, he'll probably come out worse than he went in."

But Deputy District Attorney Tracy Prior said Zubrod shook the baby repeatedly until she was 42 days old, causing 11 broken bones, including ribs, two broken clavicles and a broken femur, and a severe head injury, damaging all sides of the brain.

The now 10-month-old has cerebral palsy and is subject to seizures, Prior told the judge. She said the defendant condemned his child "to a life of horror."

"She will never be normal," Prior said. "She may never learn how to walk. He robbed his own daughter of a normal childhood."

Mudd said probation is out of the question for the "outrageous conduct."

"I, in good conscience, cannot put you back in the community for what you did," the judge said. "You have taken away the life of a person, although she continues to breathe. Seldom have I seen such incredible damage to such a small child."

Mudd said he wasn't buying the argument that adults don't understand how fragile babies are. He said the message should go out to people who shake or strike babies that "you're going to do severe harm."

Zubrod was arrested last December, after doctors examining the baby found several suspicious fractures, then notified authorities.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/m...esentence.html


Sempers,

Roger