Noah Benjamin Bliss in court and the hospital where he allegedly killed his son (WNCN screenshot)
A 22-year-old father in North Carolina was arrested last week for allegedly killing his newborn son, shaking the 3-week-old boy to death inside of a hospital where the victim’s twin sister was being cared for in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Noah Benjamin Bliss was taken into custody on Friday and charged with one count of first-degree murder and one count of intentional child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury in the tragic slaying of Gunner Bliss, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
A warrant issued for Bliss’ arrest on the murder charge states only that on Oct. 6, he “unlawfully, willfully, and feloniously did of malice aforethought kill and murder G.B.” The warrant issued on the child abuse charge states that he “unlawfully, willfully, and feloniously did intentionally inflict serious bodily injury, brain swelling and brain bleed on G. Bliss, who was three weeks old and thus under 16 years of age.”
The latter warrant also notes that Bliss was the victim’s parent at the time he allegedly inflicted the fatal injuries on the baby.
Though authorities have largely kept the circumstances of Gunner’s death under wraps, the newborn’s mother, Savannah Bliss, provided additional details about her son’s untimely death in an interview with Raleigh, North Carolina, NBC affiliate WRAL.
“I want justice for my son,” Savannah Bliss told the station. “I trusted my husband to watch Gunner while I was taking care of his sister in the ICU. He was the sweetest boy with the most beautiful blue eyes — he was the best baby — for him to be taken so soon is so wrong.”
According to the report, Gunner and his twin sister, Madelyn, were both born prematurely on Sept. 15, 2023, and were both admitted to the NICU at WakeMed Hospital’s Raleigh Campus. While Madelyn remained in the NICU, Gunner was reportedly released from the unit only a few days before his death. Neither of the twins had ever left the hospital when Gunner died, the station reported.
Savannah Bliss told WRAL that the tragic incident took place while she and her husband were at WakeMed. They had reportedly been staying on the hospital’s hotel-like floor, which is for individuals with loved ones admitted to the facility.
Savannah Bliss told the station that she went to visit Madelyn upstairs in the NICU and left Gunner in the care of her husband. That’s when authorities say the father shook his newborn son with so much force he was dead before the end of the day.
By the time Savannah Bliss returned from visiting Madelyn, Gunner had been critically deprived of oxygen and suffered swelling and bleeding in his brain as the result of trauma to his head, WRAL reported. The newborn reportedly did not suffer any broken bones or other visible external injuries, indicating the injuries were likely incurred through violent shaking.
Savannah Bliss told WRAL that she was blindsided by the tragedy and saw no signs of her husband being violent with their children.
“He seemed happy, like a proud father,” she said. “I never thought this would have happened. I trusted him. That was his daddy. He loved his babies.”
Bliss is currently being held without bond and is scheduled to appear in court again next month.
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