Father Arrested For Killing 13-Month-Old Daughter

A mother discovered a horrible scene when she returned home from shopping on Saturday. Louise Rojas' 13-month-old baby was on the floor and unresponsive and her husband Peter O'Keeffe, who was supposed to be baby-sitting, was nowhere to be found. Rojas called the police and the baby was pronounced dead at Jamaica Hospital. O'Keeffe, arrested at his mother's house in Brooklyn yesterday, was charged with second-degree murder and endangering the welfare of a child.

Rojas had left her husband with the baby for a few hours, and sources say that O'Keeffe may have tried to quiet the baby by hitting her. And besides the skull and brain injuries, the baby also had a bite mark on her body. Neighbors gave conflicting accounts of the couple: Some said they were quiet, while other said they had been hearing arguing lately. But they all agreed the crime was a shock and that the baby was very sweet.

The Daily News points out that he was wearing hospital garments when leaving the precinct, a sign that his clothes were probably taken in as evidence (the police also took boxes of evidence from the home). He will be arraigned in court today.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on November 5, 2007 8:27 AM

Comments [rss]

pik

i know someone who's said he's "babysitting" his son. i asked him if his wife pays him for doing so.

smitty

"may have tried to quiet the baby by hitting her"

good logic in that, dad.

lilianic

Tgirl: why is it that when fathers are minding their own kids it's called "babysitting"? have you ever heard anyone say a mother is "babysitting" her own children?

Good question. You hear things about actual babysitters doing things like this and that's shocking in and of itself, but when it's the child's own parent, that just seems crazy to me. How horrible for the mother that she couldn't trust her own husband with their child's care, and to find out, in the worst possible way, how unstable he really is. And then the tough babykiller ran home to his own mother. She must be so proud.

JenChungsBaby

What's with the bite marks? This guy's like Jeffrey Dahmer.

Offbalance

I never understood the logic of hitting or shaking a baby to quiet it. Do they really believe that's what it takes?

I know how frustrating it is to deal with a crying baby, but you just have to ride it out. At 13 months, she was probably teething, and miserable, and that's why she was crying.

I hope they throw the book at this waste of life.

S.D.

"Animal" is wrong, Animals tend not to kill their babies.

If there is a Hell, IMO, he's going to it.

Tgirl

why is it that when fathers are minding their own kids it's called "babysitting"? have you ever heard anyone say a mother is "babysitting" her own children?