Bella Vista teen pleads not guilty in four-month-old son’s death

Kyler Swaim
·2 min read

BELLA VISTA, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — A Bella Vista teen accused of murder in the death of his four-month-old son pleaded not guilty on Monday, according to court documents.

Bryce Alijha Anderson, 17, of Bella Vista is accused of first-degree murder and first-degree domestic battery.

According to an affidavit, Bella Vista police were made aware of a four-month-old baby who was unconscious and not breathing on March 4.

The baby was being cared for by Anderson at the time and was taken to a Rogers hospital after showing vital signs, the affidavit said.

A detective said in the affidavit that Anderson admitted to being along with the baby at the time of the incident. Anderson said he fed the child a bottle around 11:30 a.m. and once the child finished more than half of the bottle, his eyes closed and his body became limp.

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He laid the baby down after assuming that he was asleep. Anderson said that around an hour later, the child was still unresponsive and he called 911.

After he was told the baby would have to be transported to another hospital for further care, Anderson told authorities that while the child was lying down, he vomited and there was a small amount of blood in it.

Nurses at the Rogers hospital told police there were no blatant indicators of abuse and it was determined the child went into cardiac arrest, according to the affidavit.

A social worker with Children’s Mercy in Kansas City told police a CT scan showed the child had a brain bleed. The cause of the bleed was ruled as “non-accidental trauma” and believed to be the result of the baby being shaken, the document said.

A doctor from the Arkansas Children’s Hospital said the injury took place no more than four hours before the cardiac arrest.

The child was pronounced dead at 2:41 p.m. on April 7, according to the affidavit.

An omnibus hearing for Anderson is scheduled for August 13.

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