Police: Man struck infant in head repeatedly; child in ICU care

DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - An infant is in a medical coma after police said a man repeatedly hit the child in the head and struck them with a thrown object. 

Police became involved in an investigation after the baby was brought to Decatur Memorial Hospital on Dec. 6. The grandmother of the child, who is their legal guardian, brought the baby to the hospital after picking them up from a home where they were supervised by the grandmother's daughter and her fiancé.  The grandmother reported to police that the infant was not breathing. 

The child was found to have a left parietal skull fracture, per a sworn affidavit. 

The affidavit said police interviewed the people at the home where the baby was supervised, including the grandmother's daughter and the fiancé, 34-year-old Christopher M. Pulliam. In the interview, both said they had no idea how the baby ended up with a skull fracture. The daughter gave police access to camera recordings from a dining room camera in the home, which pointed toward the living room. 

Police said the observed footage on the camera from Nov. 30 showing Pulliam hitting the baby in the head while the child is on a baby swing and crying. He is seen on camera hitting the child three more times, the affidavit said, and additional footage showed the suspect throwing something at the baby and hitting them. 

More footage from Dec. 3 showed Pulliam hitting the child twice with glow sticks he was holding and while the infant was on a blanket, police said.

Pulliam was arrested by a Decatur police detective on Thursday morning. He faces preliminary charges of aggravated battery to a child and violating parole. 

His bail is set at $500,000 in Macon County. 

The infant is currently in the pediatric ICU at HSHS St. John's Children's Hospital in Springfield.