BARTOW, Fla. (TCD) — A 22-year-old father is in custody after allegedly leaving his baby alone and beating her to death while the mother was at work.
According to a press conference held by Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, on the evening of Feb. 22, Bartow Police responded to Bartow Regional Medical Center after 4-month-old Willow Kubai was brought there with “no brain activity and suspicious physical injuries.”
The child was later flown to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa, where medical staff determined the baby suffered a fractured skull, multiple layers of brain bleed, bruises, scratches, a swollen and hemorrhaged spine, and broken ribs. Even though the victim “fought for her life,” she eventually succumbed to her injuries, Judd said.
The child’s injuries reportedly suggested she had been struck on the forehead, squeezed, and hit in the back of the head with a hard object.
An autopsy determined Willow Kubai died of blunt force trauma to the head, and her death was ruled a homicide.
The sheriff’s office learned the baby’s father, Jacob Kubai, dropped off the victim’s mother, Rebekah Kubai, at work shortly before 5 p.m. on Feb. 22. He reportedly went home with the baby and then left for Walmart.
Jacob Kubai told detectives he went to the store with his infant, but according to Judd, investigators obtained surveillance video of the man alone at the store.
Jacob Kubai reportedly told investigators he fed the baby around 7:50 p.m. and went to check on her every 10 minutes. At approximately 8:10 pm., he allegedly found his daughter unresponsive and attempted CPR. According to Judd, investigation showed the man gave the child five compressions.
The baby was still unresponsive, so Jacob Kubai drove his daughter to Bartow Regional Medical Center, where police were notified.
The victim’s mother reportedly told detectives the baby had no bruising or injuries when she went to work.
Investigators determined the baby’s injuries occurred while Rebekah Kubai was at work, and Jacob Kubai was the sole caregiver of their daughter three hours before she was brought to the hospital.
According to Judd, Jacob Kubai became “elusive” with detectives, telling them statements such as, “None of this is real,” “My wife’s not real,” “My baby’s not real,” and “This is a fantasy that just didn’t happen.”
The sheriff said the suspect began “playing games with law enforcement” and showed “zero remorse” even though he had allegedly “beaten and squeezed his baby to death,” according to Judd.
Kubai was arrested on March 5 on charges of aggravated manslaughter of a child, aggravated child abuse, and two counts of knowingly abusing a child without bodily harm.
Sheriff’s Office investigators also allege that in addition to leaving the child alone while he went to Walmart, Jacob Kubai left his baby alone without a caregiver on Jan. 17.
Judd said, “Death investigations can often take many months before they are complete. In this case, the injuries to this beautiful baby girl were so severe that it left no doubt how she was killed. I don’t know how a father could do this to his child, but I do know he should be locked-up for as long as the law allows.”
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