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Jacob David Hartley had been a dad for three weeks, but apparently didn’t have as much enthusiasm for his newborn son as he did for his Xbox. The 20-year-old Lakeland, Florida, resident stands accused of shaking his son to death after the child started crying while he was in the middle of a video game marathon.
The boy’s mother, Amber Newton, told Polk County Sheriff’s Deputies that on Thursday Hartley played video games from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. He was interrupted for thirty minutes to hold his crying son, Colton D. Hartley, and allegedly shook him and yelled, “Damn you Colton, please go to [expletive] sleep.”
According to the Orlando Sentinel, Newton took the child away from him. Hartley continued playing Xbox until he left to go to work at a Sam’s Club.
Hartley returned later that night and continued playing video games until 4 a.m. The baby woke up at about that time, and Hartley held him. Newton says she found her baby bleeding form the mouth and nose. He was taking the hospital and died at 7 a.m. on Friday morning. His death was consistent with being shaken.
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Hartley confessed to shaking the baby on Thursday, and one other time in the prior week. He is now being charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child and aggravated child abuse.
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