Tennessee man charged after 6-month-old girl dies from 'suspicious head injuries'

SODDY-DAISY, Tenn. (WZTV) -- A Soddy-Daisy man is facing charges of criminal homicide and aggravated child abuse for a child's September 2020 death.

According to Soddy-Daisy court records, Seth Jones admitted to officers on January 4 that he got frustrated with the girl while he was feeding her. The affidavit of complaint says he "spun around in frustration which slung [the child] away from his body" where the child hit a television stand. Jones told officers he "shook her for two to three minutes" before he contacted the child's mother.

Erlanger Hospital contacted authorities after noting the suspicious injuries. The Hamilton County Medical Examiner ruled the child's cause of death as "blunt force trauma" and the manner of death as a homicide.

The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports Jones, 29, initially told Soddy-Daisy Police the 6-month-old baby girl fell off the couch when he was making her a bottle of formula on Sept. 21, according to Soddy-Daisy court records. Police were called to the hospital where the baby had been taken due to her having "suspicious head injuries," court records state.

She sustained several severe injuries to her head and spine, according to the medical examiner's report obtained by the Times Free Press. That report was completed on Dec. 23, and on Jan. 4, Jones was called in for another police interview.