Baby in dad’s care with significant head injury dies, police say

BELOIT, Wis. — The Beloit baby who was found with significant head injuries while in his father’s care last week has died, an official said.

Officials said Amanii Cardell Hodges, born in January, died Sunday at a Milwaukee hospital. Before the baby died, doctors told police the baby was “neurologically devastated,” and that if he lived, he wouldn’t walk or talk and would be in a “near-vegetative state.”

The Rock County Medical Examiner’s Department said Amanii’s death was the result of “homicidal abusive head trauma.”

“Tragic ones like we have, we don’t see often, but to me, once is too often,” Lt. John Kaltenbrun, of the Beloit Police Department, said.

Deanthony C. Hodges, 32, was charged in Rock County Court of neglecting and causing great bodily harm to his infant son.

According to the criminal complaint, the baby was with Hodges on March 20 when Hodges messaged the baby’s mother saying the boy wasn’t “looking good” and that he needed to go to the hospital. The baby had been alone with him for seven hours. Hodges told police the boy hadn’t fallen while he was watching him, and he said he hadn’t hit the baby.

A Beloit Memorial Hospital doctor told police Monday that the baby’s brain bleeding was caused by “significant head trauma” and he showed no signs of neurological activity and couldn’t breathe on his own, according to the complaint.

Police told News 3 Friday that the charges against Hodges are expected to amended now that the baby has died.

Kaltenbrun said police were still investigating the case and were interested in questioning more people, including the baby’s mother. He said the mother and Hodges had previously been investigated for child abuse about 18 months prior to this case after the mom’s 3- and 5-year-old were abused, one of the children severely injured.

“We did reopen and are looking at that other case a little bit closer now,” Kaltenbrun said. “There’s additional interviews that I want done, additional follow-up that I want done.”

He said Child Protective Services was involved and removed the children from the mother’s care.

“They are placed with another relative, and the children, from my understanding, have been thriving,” Kaltenbrun said.

Police said no one was charged in that case.

A status conference on the three charges–physical abuse of a child by recklessly causing great bodily harm, child neglect resulting in great bodily harm and bail jumping–filed last week was scheduled at 3 p.m. Tuesday, according to online court records. Hodges’ attorney was not present, so another status conference was scheduled for 3 p.m. Wednesday.

Amanii was 59 days old.

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