When a 3-month-old boy was seen at Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis for seizures, a CT scan and more evaluation uncovered numerous injuries, including bleeding on the brain and more than 46 fractures, some of which were healing, throughout his body.
The infant’s twin brother was then evaluated, showing bruises to his forearms and abdomen, 14 fractures and burst blood vessels to both eyes consistent with abusive trauma, according to a criminal complaint filed Thursday against the boys’ father, Dylan Raymond Strain, 20, of St. Paul.
The brain injuries to the one infant will likely result in permanent disability, including vision loss, the complaint says, adding they “caused significant risk of death.” His brother is at risk of developmental delays and impaired vision.
St. Paul police began an investigation after receiving a report from child protection services after the more seriously injured baby was seen at the hospital Jan. 31.
Police learned the infants were born prematurely on Oct. 2. One boy arrived home in St. Paul on Dec. 11, and his twin went home 23 days later. They lived with their mother, Strain, their maternal grandmother and her two children, ages 7 and 9.
According to the complaint, investigators on Feb. 4 spoke with the grandmother who said, “My grandbabies are in the hospital because some man don’t know how to control himself. She added, “That man is Dylan Strain.”
She said that shortly after the second baby came home from the hospital, she saw Strain screaming at both infants. She reported that she found “a punch mark in the wall” of the babies’ room and heard hysterical crying from the room more than once. When she saw a cut on a lip on one of the infants, Strain told her he jabbed a bottle or pacifier too hard into the baby’s mouth.
She said that on Jan. 30, one of the babies was screaming while on Strain’s lap. He was holding a baby wipe to his son’s mouth, and a pile of bloody wipes were on the floor. He told her he did not know what happened and said he is a “bad dad,” and “I can’t handle this,” the complaint states. He handed the baby to her and stormed out of the room.
She told medical providers that she would see bruising on the babies after Strain had been with them.
The children’s 20-year-old mother spoke with investigators on Feb. 5, telling them her babies were healthy when they came home from the hospital. She said that Strain forced a bottle on the babies and that their mouths would bleed when he fed them, and that he would get frustrated with them during feeding times. She witnessed Strain wiping up blood with baby wipes.
She told investigators the broken bones were probably from Strain squeezing the babies too hard. She said that Strain would hold the babies on his lap and would yell and “bounce” the babies on his lap “very fast.” She agreed with investigators that the babies’ arms and legs would flail around during these incidents, and said she immediately grabbed the babies from him when she saw that.
She tried to take responsibility for the broken collarbone and broken legs. She said one baby’s collarbone probably broke when she was holding him down to receive a vaccine at the doctor’s office and that she thought she caused one of the leg breaks when she was “bicycling” his legs, which she called “tummy exercises.”
Investigators interviewed Strain the same day, and he said he was likely the cause of the injuries to his twins, according to the complaint. He said he would panic when both babies cried. He said, “I was a bit lackluster with my patience with the kids.”
Strain said the babies’ mother did not harm the children, adding he knows that for “a fact,” the complaint states.
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Strain described an incident where he said he may have put too much pressure on one baby’s ribs during a diaper change. He said he thought he injured a baby’s collarbone while holding him face down on his legs. He agreed that he might squeeze the twins too tight, but said he hadn’t shaken them.
Strain acknowledged that he needed therapy to deal with crying babies. He said, “Baby crying gets me so worked up,” the complaint states. He said he has always had anger issues, but did not see his anger coming.
Strain was charged by warrant in Ramsey County District Court with two counts of felony first-degree assault causing great bodily harm and two counts of malicious punishment of a child. He had not been arrested as of Thursday afternoon.
Minnesota court records show no previous convictions for Strain.
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