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Father, 23, Charged In Infant's Skull Injury

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By LISA A. DAVIS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 19, 2007

Updated: 09/18/2007 10:11 pm

PORT RICHEY - When the new mother arrived home from running errands on Sept. 10, life changed before she even walked inside.

Max A. Mancero, the father of her child, met her at the door.

He cradled their month-old son, Christian, who wailed as his tiny head swelled before his parents' eyes, police Sgt. Don Young said.

Now, Mancero, 23, is accused of fracturing the baby boy's skull.

Christian remained at All Children's Hospital on Tuesday, and his family has requested his condition not be made public.

Detective James Ruland arrested Mancero on Monday on a charge of aggravated child abuse, and he was being held without bail Tuesday at the Land O' Lakes Jail.

The infant's mother, Beatrice Diaz, and paternal grandfather, Pablo Mancero, took Christian to the St. Petersburg hospital after 2 p.m. Sept. 10.

Hospital officials notified authorities and an investigation began.

Police don't know exactly how the baby was injured, Young said.

The case has been referred to the Pasco-Pinellas State Attorney's Office.

Mancero, who reportedly is unemployed and has no previous arrest history, was home alone with his son for about an hour that day, police said.

Mancero told police the boy rolled off the bed and crashed onto the bedroom floor at 5446 Quist Drive.

That's impossible, based on the severity of the baby's injuries, according to medical staff.

'The doctor says it absolutely could not have happened that way,' Young said.

Mancero is sticking to his explanation, authorities said.

Young said the baby's relatives at first 'contrived' accounts of what happened.

'It took about a day for the stories to unravel and the truth to come out,' the sergeant said.

It was Diaz who finally pointed police in the right direction, he said.

So far, Young said, there's no apparent motive because the father denies wrongdoing.

The 'very tiny baby' appeared to be premature and had a medical condition before he suffered the head injuries, Young said.

When Ruland went to the hospital, it was difficult for the detective to see such a small infant with tubes protruding from his body and his head swathed in bandages.

'The baby will survive,' Ruland said, recalling what doctors have told him. 'They're not certain because of his age, but he could bounce back.'

Reporter Lisa A. Davis can be reached at (727) 815-1083 or ldavis@tampatrib.com.

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