Lawrence Johnson of the Bronx was arrested on Saturday night for repeatedly punching his 3 month old baby daughter. The baby was unconscious when 911 got to the apartment and was pronounced dead at St. Barnabas Hospital (pictured). According to the police, Johnson and his wife Lisandra Garcia had been fighting; the NY Sun reports that Johnson was "'mad' and 'frustrated'" at Garcia and he punched 11 pound Jayla while she was sleeping. He allegedly went to sleep after punching her, though he later claimed to have given her CPR.
Johnson was out of work, but had deserted the U.S. Army in 2004 (the NY Times reports he never served an international tour of duty). Garcia had previously pressed charges against Johnson for assaulting her, but later dropped them. And while the Administration for Children's Services has never been notified about the family before, they are investigating whether the other two young children - a 1 year old son and Garcia's 3 year old daughter - need to be taken out of the home.
