A 26-year-old Fort Worth man is charged with capital murder in the Dec. 21 beating death of his 2-month-old son, authorities say.
Tarrant County Sheriff's OfficeJoseph Matthew Welborn was home alone with Christian Welborn when the infant suffered blunt force trauma to his head, Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn said Friday.
The boy's mother and grandfather found the wounded infant and called police at about 4:45 p.m., upon returning home from a shopping trip.
His mother rode in the ambulance with the boy as paramedics rushed him from the home — located in the 5200 block of Azle Avenue in Sansom Park — to Cook Children's Medical Center where he was pronounced deceased at 6:11 p.m., the arrest-warrant affidavit said.
According to the arrest affidavit, Welborn told police his 4-year-old son dropped the baby to the ground. Christian's mother had also told investigators she had seen the 4-year-old boy drop Christian.
An autopsy found the infant had two complex skull fractures caused by "at least two impacts, and most likely three," the affidavit said. The medical examiner said she did not believe that a child could generate the force needed to cause such fractures.
"Anytime full-grown adults hurt our babies I think we all ought to be appalled," said Sheriff Waybourn.
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Child Protective Services had visited the home just hours before the incident and reported the baby was awake, alert and active, said Waybourn, who also stated it wasn't immediately clear if CPS had been called to the home before.
Waybourn said Joseph Welborn, a father of five, did not finish high school and had been cycled through foster homes throughout his childhood. His criminal history included one charge of evading arrest, which was pleaded down to disorderly conduct.
Three other children home at the time of the incident were taken into CPS custody.
Welborn was being held Friday at the Tarrant County Jail on $250,000 bond, Waybourn said.
The investigation remains ongoing, said Waybourn.
Below is the arrest-warrant affidavit provided by the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office.
Conditions of bond for Joseph Welborn:
