In what is perhaps the most horrifying story I'll write about this week, authorities recently arrested a Texas father for allegedly giving his infant daughter gasoline to drink.
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Police say that the Texas father attempted to kill his own daughter with the gas. Right now, he's in jail on a stiff bond. Police arrested 24-year-old Edgar James Bridgemon last weekend. They charged the Texas father with one count of attempted capital murder. They say he attempted to kill the infant.
The incident happened in Paris, Texas. According to USA Today, emergency services responded after getting a call. Poice came to the scene after learning the Texas father "had intentionally given the infant gasoline to drink." Bridgemon attempted to flee the scene on foot, but officers followed and arrested him a block away.
Texas Father Tries To Kill Infant
"Bridgemon admitted to having given the infant gasoline to drink with the intention of ending the child's life," police Capt. Terry Bull said in a statement. They arrested him on an attempted capital murder charge. They're holding him at the Lamar County Jail on $255,000 bond.
As a father to a 7-month-old, this story makes me personally ill. I could never imagine harming my son in such a way. Babies are so innocent, and they look to their parents to protect them. So what exactly happened in this case? Well, investigators learned that the baby's mother has custody of the infant. However, she "had allowed the suspect to watch (the) child briefly."
That's when the Texas father tried to kill his own child. There's still more details to be learned. At this time, we don't know if Bridgemon lawyered up yet. Likewise, prosecutors haven't formally charged him with the felony crime just yet. However, that could change at any time.
The Texas father faces some serious jail time. A first-degree felony carries a prison sentence of five years to life in prison. But we'll save that for the trial. As for the infant, fortunately, she appears like she is going to be okay. Emergency services took her to a local hospital. They later transferred her to a hospital in Dallas-Fort Worth.
"The baby is still at the Dallas hospital and, as of of early today was improving," Bull said Tuesday.