A 29-year-old Vancouver man is facing multiple child-assault charges after his 4-month-old daughter was hospitalized with more than 10 broken ribs in different stages of healing, a severe skull fracture with a brain bleed, and a broken leg. Jimmy Mitchell appeared in Clark County court this week after allegedly admitting that he repeatedly shook, squeezed and bent the infant's leg, and dropped her from about five feet during fits of rage while drunk and high.
The infant girl was taken to Randall Children's Hospital, where Vancouver police detectives were called in to investigate, according to KATU. Doctors there found the extensive rib fractures along with the skull fracture and brain bleed, the station reports, citing a court document. The child is Mitchell's third.
Mitchell was charged with seven counts of second-degree assault of a child, one count of first-degree assault of a child, and one count of criminal mistreatment, per the same KATU account. He was arrested Sunday and is being held in the Clark County Jail on $200,000 bail. He appeared in court October 6.
Admissions Detailed in Court Document
A probable-cause document cited by the station says Mitchell admitted he squeezed his daughter extremely hard by the torso and legs and purposefully bent her leg back multiple times. He also admitted to assaulting the infant over about one month by repeatedly shaking her violently, the report states.
According to the same probable-cause document, Mitchell said he became frustrated by his daughter's cries and his failed attempts to soothe her, and dropped her from a height of about five feet. The document also indicates he hurt his daughter during fits of rage while drunk and high, the station's report notes.
A family member reported to police that Mitchell had admitted to the family that he hurt his daughter, the station's report says. Reports also indicate Mitchell has struggled with alcohol and marijuana problems, though the article does not elaborate further on that claim.
Conflicting Account From Parents
Mitchell and the child's mother told investigators they did not know how the girl was injured, and suggested that her 18-month-old sister had played rough with her, the outlet reports. That account stands apart from the admissions described in the probable-cause document summarized above.
The charges against Mitchell draw on Washington's assault statutes for crimes against children. Under RCW 9A.36.120, a person commits first-degree assault of a child as defined under the state's broader first-degree assault statute. A related provision, RCW 9A.36.130, concerns second-degree assault of a child under the state's second-degree assault definition. Washington's criminal mistreatment statute, meanwhile, holds that a parent or other covered caregiver is guilty of first-degree criminal mistreatment if, with criminal negligence, they cause great bodily harm to a child or dependent person by withholding basic necessities of life, according to the Washington State Legislature.
