18-year-old father accused of strangling infant son

WEST JORDAN — An 18-year-old man who police say strangled his infant son because he was frustrated by the baby’s crying has been arrested.

Charlie Michael McPherron was booked into the Salt Lake County jail on Wednesday for investigation of four counts of aggravated child abuse and one count of reckless child abuse.

The investigation began when West Jordan police were called to Primary Children’s Hospital on a report that a 4-month-old boy had been strangled, according to a police booking affidavit.

“The social worker and medical staff at the hospital observed several other injuries on the 4-month-old and (the) mother disclosed they’d all came from the father,” the affidavit states.

Some of the injuries included bruising to the boy’s head, neck, and face, and “two large open wounds” on his left cheek, according to police.

Witnesses told officers they were awakened at 3 a.m. Wednesday by McPherron yelling at the child. The mother then saw him “put both hands around the child’s neck and kept them there for several seconds,” the affidavit states.

When McPherron was questioned by police, he allegedly admitted to several instances of abuse including on Tuesday when he tried to get the child to stop crying by putting his finger in the boy’s mouth, stating “he put his finger past his first knuckle, half way between his first and second knuckle, until he felt the child’s throat canal,” the affidavit states. The boy also fell face first on a tile floor when the father placed him on a chair and turned away, according to police.

When asked how the boy received the wounds on his cheek, McPherron “stated he went to pick up the child from the back of the neck, but the child was slippery and his hand slipped, which caused the suspect’s finger nails to scratch the child’s cheek,” the affidavit states.

Child abuse resources:

• Utah Domestic Violence Coalition operates a confidential statewide, 24-hour domestic abuse hotline at 1-800-897-LINK (5465). Resources are also available online: udvc.org. The statewide child abuse and neglect hotline is 1-855-323-DCFS (3237).
• The Utah Division of Child and Family Services offers counseling, teaches parenting skills and conflict resolution and can connect families with community resources. Its goal is to keep children with their family when it is “possible and safe.” Visit dcfs.utah.gov/contact-us/ or call 801-538-4100.
• The Christmas Box House acts as a temporary shelter for children and can provide them with new clothing and shoes, among other services. Call the Salt Lake office at 801-747-2201 or the Ogden office at 801-866-0350.