Jefferson City man accused of shaking baby, breaking multiple bones

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Jefferson City man is in custody after authorities claim he repeatedly assaulted a baby.

Noah J. Humphus, 23, was charged on Thursday in Cole County with first-degree domestic assault and child abuse. He is being held at the Cole County Jail without bond and has not had a court date scheduled.

The probable cause statement says police were called to Capital Region Medical Center after a 4-month-old baby reportedly had several broken bones and needed to be transferred to University Hospital in Columbia.

The baby allegedly had broken ribs from being shaken by someone along with having fractures throughout their leg, the statement says.

The mother of the child allegedly told authorities that she had seen Humphus shake the baby on more than one occasion. The statement says Humphus allegedly told the mother he shook the baby in order to "toughen" them up.

Humphus allegedly admitted to law enforcement that he shook the child at least 10 different times and showed how he injured the child’s leg on a doll that was provided during the interview, court documents say.

“The defendant then demonstrated swinging the victim upside down by her legs,” the probable cause statement says.