A North Carolina man is in jail facing first-degree murder charges after police believe he inflicted serious injury to his 3-month-old son, which caused the baby’s death.
CBS 17 reports that Forsyth County sheriff’s officials initially charged Brandon Scott McDaniel with felony child abuse after he rushed his baby, Sloan McDaniel, to the hospital and doctors discovered that the newborn was suffering from severe injuries consistent with child abuse.
Authorities believe the 20-year-old man severely abused Sloan at his home in Clemmons, CBS 17 reports.
The Winston-Salem Journal reports that according to an arrest warrant, McDaniel was accused of assaulting his son, resulting in bleeding on Sloan’s brain and “multiple serious injuries yet to be diagnosed.”
The baby boy passed away as a result of his injuries a few days later, CBS 17 reports. He died nearly three months to the day he was born.
According to CBS 17, McDaniel is in the Forsyth County Law Enforcement Detention Center with no bond allowed. Meanwhile, Sloan’s family prepares for a “Celebration of Life” in the baby’s honor.
The boy’s godmother, Daniela Smith, said she and Sloan’s mother, whose name has not been released, constantly talked about the type of man he would grow to be and that he taught both of them how to truly love, CBS 17 reports.
Smith told WGHP, CBS 17 reports, “When Sloan came into our lives he really showed us how to mature, how to love someone else more than yourself. And really you could just step back from the situation and realize that wow, I am a part of his life.”
A GoFundMe page was set up by Sloan’s other godmother, Debbie McCaffrey, and states, “Any money raised will help with funeral and burial expenses, as well as offset the financial burden of time away from work. All donations, no matter how small, are deeply appreciated … Sloan’s life was a life changing gift to so many.”
