Apple Valley Man Charged With Gravely Injuring Newborn
APPLE VALLEY, Minn. (AP) — A father with a lengthy criminal record is charged with inflicting life-threatening injuries on his newborn son in Apple Valley.
Thirty-two-year-old Michael Herkal is charged in Dakota County District Court with first-degree assault and malicious punishment of a child. Herkal is jailed on $750,000 bond.
A criminal complaint says the 13-day-old boy suffered a skull fracture and bleeding on the brain. The Star Tribune reports the complaint says the child is only breathing with assistance and is not expected to survive.
Herkal told police his 2-year-old son pulled the baby off the couch. Authorities say Herkal later told investigators the infant slipped out of his hands and fell on a coffee table.