Minnesota Father Charged With Murder After Breaking Infant’s Ribs & Legs; Blames Family Cat

A Minnesota father has been charged with the murder of his infant daughter after initially blaming their pet cat for her death.

Kristopher Henderson previously claimed that the cat attacked his two-month-old daughter, Adaline, on September 23rd, breaking her legs, ribs and causing bleeding on the baby’s brain. Shelby Goodrich, Adaline’s mother, said she fed her baby and put her back to sleep before leaving for work. Henderson texted Goodrich at 5:00 p.m., claiming that he caught their 19-pound feline laying on the baby. When Goodrich arrived home an hour later, she discovered her daughter’s eyes bulging from the sockets and took the baby to the hospital. She died on November 3rd at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester after having “little to no brain activity.”

Henderson initially denied having knowledge of how the baby was killed. He soon changed his story, blaming the cat before finally stating that he struck the infant “more forcefully than usual” while trying to stop her from crying.

The 39-year-old was charged Friday with second-degree murder without intent while committing a felony and first-degree manslaughter while committing malicious punishment of a child. He is being held on a $1 million bond.