| For Immediate Release Case # 11NF3109 August 15, 2013 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami
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FATHER CAUGHT ON HIDDEN CAMERA FACES TRIAL FOR ATTEMPTED MURDER OF 2-MONTH-OLD SON FOR SHAKING, STRANGLING, AND SWINGING BABY BY NECK
FULLERTON – A father caught on a hidden video camera faces trial today for attempting to murder his 2-month-old son by swinging him by the neck with a noose-like blanket and repeatedly punching, strangling and shaking the baby. Joshua Allen Robey, 26, Costa Mesa, is charged with one felony count each of attempted murder, torture, and child abuse with a sentencing enhancement for causing great bodily injury to a child under 5 years old. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 15 years to life in state prison. Opening statements are expected to begin today, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2013, in Department N-13, North Justice Center, Fullerton. The time is to be determined.
In October 2011, Robey is accused of having a 2-month-old son, Baby Doe, with his girlfriend of two years. He is accused of living on and off with his girlfriend and her mother in Anaheim until three weeks prior to the attempted murder, at which time he began living in a motel in Costa Mesa.
On Oct. 18, 2011, Robey is accused of going to the home of his girlfriend and her mother to babysit Baby Doe. Without the defendant’s knowledge, his girlfriend set up a hidden camera in the home because she believed him to be cheating.
While alone with Baby Doe and solely responsible for his care, Robey is accused of violently abusing and attempting to murder the infant. The defendant is accused of wrapping a blanket around the baby’s neck, picking him up by lifting the ends of the blanket like a noose, and swinging the victim around for over a minute.
Robey is accused of laying Baby Doe back down and punching him several times in the chest with closed fists. On multiple occasions he is accused of strangling, slapping and punching the baby and grabbing the victim by the throat with both hands, lifting him in the air, and violently shaking him.
At one point while Baby Doe was crying, Robey is accused of covering the victim’s mouth with his hand, grabbing him by the neck, and shaking him in the air. He is accused of attempting to suffocate Baby Doe by covering the victim’s face with a blanket and covering the baby’s mouth with his hand for several seconds. He is also accused of cover the victim’s nose and mouth with tape to suffocate the baby.
The baby’s mother discovered the abuse upon watching the video from the hidden camera. The girlfriend’s mother learned of the video the following day and took the baby to the hospital. Hospital staff contacted the Anaheim Police Department (APD), who investigated this case.
Robey was arrested at a motel in Santa Ana by APD officers that night. Baby Doe suffered fractured ribs, bleeds to the brain, and liver injuries.