Charges Against Man Accused Of Killing 4-Month-Old Daughter Held For Court
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - A Mt. Lebanon man accused of killing his 4-month-old baby girl went before a judge today.
An Allegheny County Police detective told the court Joseph Gazzam admitted to him that when his baby girl wouldn't stop crying he punched her with a closed fist in the head, the stomach and the back.
Detectives say 30-year-old Gazzam was home alone with his daughter, Victoria, on Nov. 12, 2017. According to police, Victoria's mother went to work and Gazzam was caring for the infant in their attic home at 587 Osage road in Mt. Lebanon.
Around 12:20 p.m., police were called to the home for a report of a non-responsive child. Victoria was taken to Saint Clair Hospital and pronounced dead about an hour later. Police said Gazzam first told them he fell asleep in bed with the infant and woke up to find her unresponsive on the floor.
Detectives said he later admitted that after punching the baby, she stopped breathing and her eyes rolled back in her head.
The doctor who performed the baby's autopsy told the court the baby had multiple contusions to her back and head, a lacerated kidney and heart vessel, fractured ribs, and a brain bleed. The doctor told the court she also discovered some chronic injuries to Victoria's arms that were likely from repeated twisting.
Magistrate Judge Tom Swann held all of the charges against Gazzam for Common Pleas Court.
His next court date is July 16. He is being held in the Allegheny County Jail without any bond.
