Father purposely dropped ‘difficult’ infant son on head, killing him, wife still supports him
A Minnesota father intentionally dropped his 5-month-old son on his head for “being difficult” as he tried to get him to fall asleep, prosecutors said.
Matthew Hoisser, 35, of Woodbury, was charged with second-degree murder on Friday in the death of his infant son, Gus, who died five days after the incident on April 24, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported.
Hoisser told police his son was “crying and fussy and was being difficult” before he dropped the boy head-first on the floor, according to a criminal complaint obtained by the newspaper.
The following morning, the boy was “noticeably whining and whimpering” while refusing to drink a bottle. His mother then dropped the infant off at the home of a babysitter, who later found him unresponsive after being put down for a nap.
The boy, whose skull was fractured in the fall, was rushed to a hospital in St. Paul and later died at a hospital in Minneapolis. His cause of death was blunt force trauma, the newspaper reports.
The boy’s head injury was so debilitating that it would have left him blind, deaf and unable to move, according to the criminal complaint.
A medical examiner also found evidence of a second head injury that the boy suffered a week or two earlier, according to the complaint.
The baby boy, Gus Christian Hoisser, died on April 30, according to his obituary, which described him as a “source of joy” for his parents and all who knew him.
“He loved riding on his daddy’s shoulder and hearing his mommy sing, especially Rainbow Connection, and will always remain their precious Snuggamonkey,” his obituary read.
Hoisser, who told a judge he has worked at a beer distributor for the past six years, made his initial court appearance on Friday. A judge set his bail at $350,000 and ordered him to stay away from his wife, Nicole, who is 10 weeks pregnant, the Pioneer Press reported.
But Hoisser’s attorney insisted that the no-contact order be reviewed during a hearing set for Monday afternoon.
“I don’t think it’s necessary,” attorney John Leunig said. “His wife is totally supportive of him.”
Photo Credit: GoFundMe/Washington County Sheriff