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Parents charged in infant's gruesome death
Meghan Davis
Published: June 13, 2011
A young couple are facing charges after the remains of their newborn daughter were discovered in a wooded area of Wayne County on Friday.
Christopher Fitzpatrick and Jennifer Barrise, both 20-year-old residents of the Hideout in Lake Ariel, were arrested on Friday after investigators found the baby's body in a wooded area behind M n' D Lawn & Tree Care at 1178 Hamlin Highway, Lake Ariel, where Fitzpatrick works, according to a criminal affidavit.
Ms. Barrise, identified as Fitzpatrick's girlfriend, gave birth to the baby in a car on May 28, the affidavit said. Fitzpatrick's 11-year-old sister was also in the car, saying she heard the baby crying after the birth.
Wayne County District Attorney Michael Lehutsky said Fitzpatrick took the baby behind M n' D, put her on the ground and dropped a cinder block on the newborn twice, killing her.
Charges against him include criminal homicide, concealing the death of a child and two counts of the abuse of a corpse. State police in Honesdale confirmed late Friday evening that Ms. Barrise also was charged with criminal homicide and concealing the death of a child.
Fitzpatrick told police he drove his girlfriend and sister back to the Hideout, leading the two to believe he was taking the baby to a hospital for safe haven, court records said. Instead, state police say he drove back to M n' D, killed his daughter behind the building and buried the body there.
During a May 29 family gathering, Fitzpatrick allegedly admitted to his uncle, Justin Fitzpatrick, that he had taken the baby into the woods behind where he works and buried her there.
He also told his parents, Scott and Michelle Fitzpatrick, that he committed the murder, after initially telling them he had dropped the baby off at a local hospital, the affidavit said, and told his mother that he and Ms. Barrise could not take care of the baby.
Fitzpatrick and Ms. Barrise have a 1-year-old child together, the affidavit said.
A relative of Fitzpatrick told the Sussex County Sheriff's Department in New Jersey that they were concerned about the welfare of the baby, and that touched off a state police investigation which ultimately uncovered the child's remains, according to Dunmore-based spokesman Trooper Bill Satkowski.
Fitzpatrick was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Jane Farrell before being sent to Wayne County Prison. He is being held without bail on the homicide charge, Lehutsky said.
Meghan Davis
Published: June 13, 2011
A young couple are facing charges after the remains of their newborn daughter were discovered in a wooded area of Wayne County on Friday.
Christopher Fitzpatrick and Jennifer Barrise, both 20-year-old residents of the Hideout in Lake Ariel, were arrested on Friday after investigators found the baby's body in a wooded area behind M n' D Lawn & Tree Care at 1178 Hamlin Highway, Lake Ariel, where Fitzpatrick works, according to a criminal affidavit.
Ms. Barrise, identified as Fitzpatrick's girlfriend, gave birth to the baby in a car on May 28, the affidavit said. Fitzpatrick's 11-year-old sister was also in the car, saying she heard the baby crying after the birth.
Wayne County District Attorney Michael Lehutsky said Fitzpatrick took the baby behind M n' D, put her on the ground and dropped a cinder block on the newborn twice, killing her.
Charges against him include criminal homicide, concealing the death of a child and two counts of the abuse of a corpse. State police in Honesdale confirmed late Friday evening that Ms. Barrise also was charged with criminal homicide and concealing the death of a child.
Fitzpatrick told police he drove his girlfriend and sister back to the Hideout, leading the two to believe he was taking the baby to a hospital for safe haven, court records said. Instead, state police say he drove back to M n' D, killed his daughter behind the building and buried the body there.
During a May 29 family gathering, Fitzpatrick allegedly admitted to his uncle, Justin Fitzpatrick, that he had taken the baby into the woods behind where he works and buried her there.
He also told his parents, Scott and Michelle Fitzpatrick, that he committed the murder, after initially telling them he had dropped the baby off at a local hospital, the affidavit said, and told his mother that he and Ms. Barrise could not take care of the baby.
Fitzpatrick and Ms. Barrise have a 1-year-old child together, the affidavit said.
A relative of Fitzpatrick told the Sussex County Sheriff's Department in New Jersey that they were concerned about the welfare of the baby, and that touched off a state police investigation which ultimately uncovered the child's remains, according to Dunmore-based spokesman Trooper Bill Satkowski.
Fitzpatrick was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Jane Farrell before being sent to Wayne County Prison. He is being held without bail on the homicide charge, Lehutsky said.
