Jonesboro father gets 35 years for baby's head injury

A Craighead County jury has convicted a Jonesboro man of first-degree battery and sentenced him to 35 years in prison, Prosecuting Attorney Scott Ellington said Wednesday.

Paul Suchey, 31, of Jonesboro was accused of fracturing his 4-months-old son’s skull in 2013. The jury returned its verdict Wednesday afternoon after a two-day trial.

Suchey was arrested and charged in September 2013 after medical personnel notified police of an injured baby.

X-rays showed Suchey's son had suffered a fracture above his right ear caused by hard impact or blunt trauma.

When questioned by police, Suchey first said he had rocked the child in his lap and may have hit the baby’s head on his knee, and then later told police he struck the baby’s head on a door frame while changing his diaper, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette previously reported. Investigators said medical evidence overwhelmingly showed that the child suffered a smashing blow to the head.

The child was treated at LeBonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis and has recovered from the injuries, according to Ellington.

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