Parents charged after blaming newborn’s death on cat

The weeks-old baby died after a skull fracture and signs of potential suffocation

The Virginia couple, Mathew and Elizabeth Sebolka, blamed their daughter’s death on their family cat. The authorities have ruled the infant’s death as homicide (AFP via Getty Images/ Representative image)

A couple in Virginia who blamed their newborn daughter’s death due to head injuries on the family cat has been booked for child abuse, police officials said.

The couple, Mathew and Elizabeth Sebolka, have been charged with abusing their newborn Raven at their family home and were arrested in Richmond on Monday, according to a news report.

The crime came to light after Raven was taken to VCU Medical Centre with severe head injuries on 30 July, following which the police was alerted.

Raven had bruising on her head, a skull fracture and signs of potential suffocation, WTVR reported citing police sources. She died in the hospital on 10 August. She was barely three-weeks old at the time of her death. The medical examiner has ruled her death as homicide.

Upon questioning, the infant’s father Mathew Sebolka said he had left his daughter in her car seat and gone to the bathroom. He allegedly claimed that when he came back from the washroom, their family cat was sitting on the baby’s neck, the police officials said.

He then claimed to have alerted his wife Elizabeth Sebolka who says she noticed the baby had a rash and puffy eyes, and rushed her to a local hospital by bus.

The police has charged both parents with child abuse and neglect individually and additional charges are pending, according to the report. The couple was taken to Richmond jail on Monday night.

The accused family published an online obituary for Raven, where the grandparents have penned an emotional note saying, “Raven is a hero for her sister and many other children. She is loved beyond measure and has worth that is untold.”