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Officer Dad Allegedly Gave His Baby 9 Skull Fractures Before Family Set Up GoFundMe Page

NewsPublished Jul 22, 2019
By Genny Glassman
Hailey RoseGoFundMe

A police officer and his wife from Ewing, New Jersey, have been arrested in connection with the murder of their 3-month-old daughter. Daniel and Catherine Bannister were charged last week in the December 2018 murder of their baby girl, Hailey. Police now say that the injuries discovered on the girl indicate she may have been a victim of "an ongoing pattern of abuse," and as more details emerge, the story gets increasingly distressing.

Police responded to a call at the Bannister home on December 5, after her mother called to report the girl was having difficulty breathing.-placeholder
Police responded to a call at the Bannister home on December 5, after her mother called to report the girl was having difficulty breathing.
CBS Philly

Police responded to a call at the Bannister home on December 5, after her mother called to report the girl was having difficulty breathing.

Lawrenceville Patch reported that Hailey's mom, Catherine Bannister, called 911 to report that her baby was having difficulty breathing. The mom reportedly told dispatchers her baby had just been diagnosed with acid reflux, and although Hailey was barely conscious, she did have a pulse.

"My husband is an officer so he’s working with her, but we need help,” she told dispatchers, NJ.com reported. She added that Hailey was taking “very, very shallow, big gasps" and begged them to come quickly to their home.

When first responders arrived, Hailey had gone into cardiac arrest, People noted. She was then taken to Capital Health Medical Center – Hopewell, where doctors determined that Hailey had nine skull fractures, a brain bleed and multiple fractured ribs. She was transferred to Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, where the baby girl died December 11.

But there was something about the girl's death that was immediately "suspicious" to law enforcement at the time.-placeholder
But there was something about the girl's death that was immediately "suspicious" to law enforcement at the time.
CBS Philly

But there was something about the girl's death that was immediately "suspicious" to law enforcement at the time.

Police opened an investigation into Hailey's case on the same day she was taken to the hospital, Lawrenceville Patch reported, because of the suspicious nature of her injuries. The investigation has since revealed disturbing things that allegedly were happening in the Bannister home. 

In a statement Wednesday, Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo Onofri said officials discovered an “ongoing pattern of abuse" from Hailey's autopsy, performed in December. The autopsy revealed that she died of complications from blunt impact trauma of the head and her fatal injuries included skull fractures and a subdural hemorrhage. Police then ruled her death a homicide.

It took police about seven months to delve into text messages the parents sent to each other and conduct interviews with friends and family, as well as the family's doctor, but they ultimately alleged in court documents that Daniel had been abusing the girl because he wasn't bonding with her as he would have wanted, NJ.com reported.

They also claimed that Catherine, a kindergarten teacher at Foundation Academy in Trenton, knew about the abuse but never reported it, despite being concerned for the well-being of her daughter. What's worse is that police also believe that the fatal injury took place November 23, more than a week before Catherine called to report that her daughter wasn't breathing.

A neighbor of the Bannisters also spoke out and confirmed he had seen suspicious behavior at the Bannister household in the past. "I see him pull up with his truck all the time. He's always yelling. I always hear him yelling, I always see him yelling a lot of nonsense around the neighborhood for no reason," Jonathan Prieto told Lawrenceville Patch.

Daniel Bannister was suspended from his position as an officer with the Ewing Township Police Department in December.

Both parents are facing the blame for their daughter's death.

On Wednesday, police arrested both Daniel and Catherine in connection with the murder of their infant daughter. Daniel was charged with murder, and his wife was charged with endangering the welfare of a child.

Both parents made their initial appearance in Mercer County Superior Court on Thursday via video conference, People reported. They both entered pleas of not guilty.

“He was falsely accused. They have no proof of anything,” a family member told CBS 3. The man reiterated that police had no evidence to support arresting Daniel in this crime, but that will remain to be seen as the trial moves forward.

Before her arrest, Catherine created a GoFundMe account and was determined to start Hailey's Hope Foundation, which was meant to help other babies live, Lawrenceville Patch reported. The campaign raised more than $17,000 before it was closed. A report by NJ.com revealed that GoFundMe has announced it will return money to anyone who donated to the campaign in light of both parents' arrests.

The pretrial detention hearing for the Bannisters is set for Tuesday, when more details about Hailey's death are expected to be revealed.

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