Inset: William Page (Outagamie County Jail). Background: The street in Wisconsin where Page lived with the victim (Google Maps).
A 35-year-old father in Wisconsin is accused of severely abusing his newborn son, allegedly breaking both of the 6-week-old”s femurs and fracturing seven of his ribs, among other near-fatal injuries.
William Paul Page was taken into custody on Monday and charged with one count of physical abuse of a child by repeated acts intentionally causing great bodily harm and one count of strangulation or suffocation, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show. Page made his initial appearance Thursday afternoon before Outagamie County Circuit Judge Brian G. Figy, who ordered him to remain in pretrial detention in lieu of a $100,000 cash-only bond.
The investigation into Page began when the newborn’s mother brought the child on Sept. 29 to a local hospital for treatment after he suffered injuries to his mouth, Green Bay Fox affiliate WLUK reported, citing the criminal complaint. In discussions with medical personnel, the mother also revealed that she had witnessed Page physically abuse the baby about one week earlier during one of his “angry outbursts,” allegedly hitting him in the chest.
In an interview with police, Page discussed his anger issues, telling detectives he had previously “punched walls, hit doors, slammed doors, [and] hit the bedside table” when frustrated. He also reportedly said there was “a wall” in the house that he typically uses to vent his frustrations, saying, “I kind of beat at it to release anger.”
When asked if his son’s colic had any effect on his anger, Page allegedly said it had exacerbated his “emotional outbursts.”
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“Yeah, for me like it gets to the point, like, like I was talking to my pediatrician, like … my physician, where like my anger, you know, for typically like it just builds, builds, builds, builds,” the affidavit states. “But lately with the colic, which is him crying constantly and so high pitched it seems like my anger will just like, all of a sudden just like snap…it’ll be there and snap which is obviously why I want to get back on medication.”
Page also allegedly confessed that he “slapped” the infant at least once and regularly squeezed the boy with so much force that he would go “limp” in his arms.
“Bill [Page] stated he held Victim 1 tightly against him and he went limp and was crying on Saturday,” the affidavit states. “[Police] asked Bill [Page] how many times he held Victim 1 to his chest so tightly to the point where there would be less crying and his body would go limp, and Bill [Page] indicated ‘maybe once every four or five times.'”
When asked if his actions could have led to his son’s death, Page reportedly responded such an outcome was “possible,” but claimed he was “not meaning to” kill his son.
“Yes, it could have happened, yeah,” he allegedly told police.
“[Police] advised Bill he would be taken into custody for physical abuse of a child and Bill stated, ‘I don’t know why this is considered abuse…this isn’t intentional,'” the affidavit reportedly says.
Other injuries suffered by the victim included a clavicle fracture, chest contusion, and hemorrhages to the eyes.
Prosecutors reiterated the severity of the child’s condition when seeking the high cash-only bond.
“Again, this baby is 6 weeks old. He has significant, significant injuries,” Outagamie County District Attorney Melinda Tempelis said during Thursday’s hearing, footage of which was posted by WLUK. “We are lucky this is not a homicide.”
Page remained housed in the Outagamie County Jail as of Friday morning and is currently scheduled to appear in court again for a status conference on Oct. 23, records show.
