Baby, Taken From Orange Hospital, Now in Denver

An 8-month-old baby was in fair but stable condition at a Denver hospital Wednesday, two days after the possibly abused infant was taken by his father, police said, from protective custody at the UCI Medical Center pediatric ward in Orange.

A University of Colorado Health Sciences Center physician said the Huntington Beach infant, David Kennedy Jr., was brought to the hospital Tuesday about 11:15 p.m. by the baby’s great-grandmother, who lives in Denver.

A criminal complaint charging felony child endangerment was filed Wednesday against the child’s father, David Kennedy Sr., 30, who is believed to be in the Denver area with his wife, Kimberlynn, 24, a Huntington Beach police spokeswoman said.

The baby’s parents had taken him to the University of California, Irvine, hospital Friday, and the infant was being monitored by nurses there under a protective custody arrangement after doctors discovered a severe head injury, bruises on much of the body and evidence of broken arms and legs that were healing, police said.

Taken Monday Night

The baby was removed from the hospital about 9:15 p.m. Monday, during a visit by his father.

The infant’s maternal grandfather said Wednesday from Denver that the baby’s parents want to cooperate with police and took their son from the hospital because they were unhappy with the care being provided there.

“The child was not being fed on schedule, and his diapers were not being changed,” said Paul Gosselin, the boy’s grandfather, who flew to Denver from his Westminster home Tuesday night. He said the UCI hospital staff was “more interested in building a child-abuse case” against the couple than in “taking care of the child.”

A hospital spokeswoman denied the family’s allegations, saying the facility is very conscientious about nursing care, especially for babies.

The infant was brought to Denver, Gosselin said, because his parents were afraid that if they sought medical care in California the baby would be taken away from them.