A man who has been drifting between a Costa Mesa motel and his girlfriend's Anaheim home is accused of trying to kill their 2-month-old son by repeatedly shaking and punching the baby and swinging him by the neck in a noose-like blanket.
Joshua Allen Robey, 24, faces a maximum sentence of 15 years to life in state prison if convicted of the serious felony charges filed against him–after authorities saw footage from a hidden camera his girlfriend set up because she believed he was cheating on her.
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Robey is said to have gone to the home his girlfriend lives in with her mother on Tuesday to look after his child. What he did not know was his girlfriend had g.hidden camera in the home to record
him because of her fears of infidelity.
What the video would show was far more disturbing, according to authorities. While alone with his son, Robey allegedly abused and attempted to murder the infant, wrapping a blanket around the 2-month-old's neck,
picking him up by lifting the ends of the blanket like a noose, and
swinging the victim around for more than a minute, states the Orange County District Attorney's office (OCDA).
Robey is accused of setting the baby back down and punching him several
times in the chest with closed fists, repeatedly slapping the child and grabbing him by the
throat with both hands, lifting him in the air, and violently shaking
him.
At one point, as the baby cried, Robey allegedly covered his mouth with a hand, grabbed him by the neck with the other and shook him
in the air. He is accused of attempting to suffocate his pride and joy with both the blanket and his hands.
The baby's mother did not discover the abuse until watching the video the following morning, according to the OCDA, which notes the child was taken to a hospital where staff contacted the Anaheim Police Department. Robey was arrested at a Santa Ana motel.
The baby remains in the hospital with undisclosed injuries, the OCDA says.
His father was scheduled to be arraigned today on one felony count each of
attempted murder, torture, and child abuse with a sentencing enhancement
for causing great bodily injury to a child under 5 years old. Prosecutors say they will seek bail of $1 million.
Meanwhile, the investigation continues. Anyone with additional information is asked to contact Anaheim Police Sgt.
Mark Brucks at 714.765.1927, Detective Cherie Hill at 714.765.1578, or Supervising District Attorney Investigator Mike Munn at 714.347.8560.
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.