Charges were filed Friday against an Arkansas man who admitted to cutting off his infant son's breathing out of frustration, court records show.
On Dec. 11, Sharp County deputies met with a Cave City couple who had taken their 3-month-old to White River Medical Center after he was only taking "maybe one breath every 15 seconds," according to an affidavit.
Carl Adrian Ring, 30, reportedly said he was carrying the baby across the street to his mother's house when the child started crying and squirming. The document states Ring said that he squeezed the baby but then stumbled and the child leapt out of his arms, striking his face on Ring's knee.
The boy was transported to Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock, where doctors found he had at least two skull fractures, a bruise on his liver and a broken shoulder blade, which was an older injury that had partially healed on its own, the affidavit stated.
Doctors noted the baby's injuries were indicators of abuse and were causing him to have seizures and difficulty breathing.
Ring retold his initial story, the document shows, changing the detail about squeezing the child but after further questioning became emotional and stated he hadn't been sleeping due to the infant crying.
"I hurt my son," Ring was quoted as saying. "I just wanted him to stop crying."
Ring said that when he was carrying the baby and stumbled, the child started screaming uncontrollably. He reportedly put the child on the floor of his mother's house, then walked away.
When he returned a few minutes later, the boy was still crying, he told police. Ring said he put one hand around the baby's neck and the other on top of the baby's chest and pushed "his breath out of him" until the child went limp, according to the affidavit.
Ring said the baby took a deep breath and let out an "ear-piercing" scream like he had never heard before, police wrote, prompting him to push on the infant's neck, head and chest until the child stopped breathing and became lifeless again.
"I killed my boy," Ring told authorities. "I hurt my son today and everybody is going to hate me for it."
An X-ray revealed more fractures to the 3-month-old's left and right arms and his right leg.
Doctors said the baby's injuries were caused by "extreme force" and the boy would at minimum have some type of developmental problems that would more than likely shorten his life span.
Ring has since been released from the Sharp County jail on a $65,000 bond, records show. He faces a first-degree battery charge and is scheduled to appear in court again Jan. 18.
