ALLEGAN COUNTY, Mich. -- The father of a 3-month-old baby found dead in a home in Allegan this week has now been formally charged.
Jonathan Colby, 22, was arraigned in 57th District Court in Allegan County Friday afternoon on one charge of first-degree child abuse. The charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.
A judge set Colby's bond at $500,000. He was arrested Dec. 3 in connection with the death of his son Jase Colby who was found unresponsive by his mother in his crib Wednesday morning.
According to a search warrant administered by the sheriff’s department, Colby admitted to striking the infant in the head twice because the baby wouldn’t stop crying.
Autopsy results determined Baby Jase had a cracked skull and injures consistent with strangulation and suffocation, abuse consistent with what Colby admitted to investigators.
It’s not exactly clear when the baby was hit, but Colby told investigators it was “in the past few days.” The infant lived with his mother and father on Starlite Drive in Allegan Township.
Colby also admitted to investigators he had been drinking and was under the influence of marijuana. He said some time in the past few days, he struck his son Jase twice in the head because he wouldn’t stop crying, according to court documents.
Colby told investigators he wasn’t sure how hard he hit him. The warrant states his parents put Jase to bed Tuesday night. He had a fever of 102 degrees. The child was found around 1:25 a.m.
The parents told investigators they’d been smoking marijuana hours before finding their child unresponsive. That’s something they’d been warned about before by Child Protective Services.
Additional charges against Colby could be forthcoming as police continue their investigation and more information becomes available from the Medical Examiner's Office.
Colby's preliminary hearing is scheduled for Dec. 16 at 9 a.m. in Allegan County.
