Infant Beaten By Apple Valley Father Has Died: Police

UPDATE: Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom announced Tuesday afternoon that that Anthony Herkal, who was 13-days-old at the time serious injuries were inflicted upon him on Aug. 12, has died.

Backstrom said that once his office has received the autopsy results from the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office, additional charges related to the infant’s death will be filed.

"It is heartbreaking that the serious injuries suffered by this helpless infant have now led to his death," Backstrom said in a statement.

"On behalf of everyone involved in the investigation and prosecution of this case, I want to express our deepest sympathy to Anthony Herkal’s family."

APPLE VALLEY, MN — Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom announced that Michael Anthony Herkal, 32, of Apple Valley, has been charged with assault and malicious punishment of a child. Authorities accuse Herkal of causing life threatening-injuries to his 13-day-old infant boy on Aug. 12 in Apple Valley.

Apple Valley police were dispatched to a residence Sunday at about 7:30 p.m. on report that an infant was not breathing. Officers there observed that his lips were blue in color, his extremeties were turning purple, and he had several bruises on various parts of his body.

No pulse or breathing was detected. Officers and paramedics began life saving measures and the infant was transferred to Fairview Ridges Hospital.

After it was determined that he had a skull fracture and bleeding on his brain, the infant was transferred to Children’s Masonic Hospital for further treatment of these life-threatening injuries.

The infant’s mother later told police she and Herkal got into an argument earlier that day. After feeding her newborn son, she left him in the care of his father, according to the criminal complaint.

She told police she started receiving texts from Herkal at approximately 6:30 p.m. that the infant would not stop crying and needed her.

Herkal initially told police that his other son, 2, had twice pulled the infant off the couch, the complaint states.

Investigators say Herkal later changed his story and said while changing the infant’s diaper, the infant was kicking so he squeezed the infant’s body and that the infant slipped out of his hands and fell onto a coffee table.

During the search of Herkal's cellphone, authorities say they found Google searches that included:

• “someone threw a baby on the floor”
• “baby breathing hard”
• “noisy baby breathing: what’s normal and what’s not”
• “babys butt is blue s[p]anking”

Backstrom said the infant has been diagnosed with a difused brain injury as a result of trauma to his head coupled with prolonged lack of oxygen.

At this time he is only breathing with assistance and is not expected to survive, according to police. If this infant dies, additional charges will be filed in this case.

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Image via Dakota County Sheriff's Office