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An Indiana father charged for allegedly shaking his infant daughter has told police officers that he does not remember the incident, blaming “time blindness.”
Kyle James Lawson, 28, was arrested on August 9 on two felony counts of neglect of a dependent, resulting in serious injury, after his three-month-old nearly died and was left with a “constellation of injuries.”
Doctors at an Indianapolis children’s hospital recorded the infant as having 18 rib fractures, all of which were in different stages of healing. She also had a left leg fracture; fractured finger on her left hand; blood collecting outside her brain on both sides of her head; and blood on three spots in her spine, according to WXIN.
Lawson claims to have no memory of how his daughter sustained her injuries due to what he described as “time blindness”, a symptom of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
According to an unofficial diagnosis from the Attention Deficit Disorder Association, this is when a person struggles to judge how much time has passed and estimate the time needed to get something done. However, this organization and others do not mention the symptom as causing a person to suffer from memory loss.
According to court documents, the defendant was vague about how his daughter received her injuries. “Maybe I shook her, I don’t really know,” he reportedly told doctors.
On July 13, Lawson called 911 to report that his daughter was unresponsive. The child was taken to a local hospital but later airlifted to a children’s hospital due to the severity of her injuries.
The child’s mother told police that Lawson never admitted to harming their baby but a police reported noted that she “did feel that some of his conversation was apologetic for his behavior, causing the injuries to the child.”
The mother also reportedly told medical staff that she had previously seen a red spot on the infant’s pupil and blood mixed with the infant’s saliva.
The filings also included text messages that Lawson allegedly sent to the child’s mother.
“Am I really calling 911?” he sent, minutes before he made the emergency phone call. “What the f*** could have happened?”
The next day, Lawson allegedly blamed himself, texting the child’s mother to say he needed help with his mental health and anger management. “I’ll never forgive myself for what has happened. I’m not gonna stop fighting for our family,” he wrote, according to the documents.
However in the charging documents, police cited video footage that they say shows Lawson shaking his daughter three times while she was on a changing table before giving her rescue breaths, and then flipping her over by one of her legs.
A doctor at the children’s hospital, who reviewed the clips, told police that the behavior would be expected to cause the “near fatal event.”
Lawson told investigators he had no memory of the events in the clips, citing time blindness, and adding that recent stress had resulted in him experiencing blackout periods.
Lawson was released on bond and is expected to appear in court on October 16.
