NEWPORT BEACH : Murder Charge Filed in Infant Boy’s Death

Prosecutors filed a murder charge Wednesday against a Newport Beach motel manager who allegedly killed his 9-day-old stepson in a fit of temper.

Zonith Shaw, 22, has told authorities he “exploded” because the infant was cranky, police said.

Arraignment for Shaw, who lived at the Pine Knot Motel in Newport Beach, was postponed until Sept. 29 in Municipal Court in Newport Beach.

Municipal Judge Christopher W. Strople set bail at $500,000, according to a court clerk.

Shaw was arrested after the boy, Anthony, died Sunday. An autopsy Monday determined that the child died from several skull fractures and had been abused.

When investigators confronted Shaw later with that finding, he admitted causing the injuries, police said.

Shaw lived at the motel with his wife, the infant and a toddler girl. The girl has been removed to the Orangewood Children’s Home, police said.

Telephone calls to the motel were answered with a recorded message.

The incident began Saturday morning when paramedics answered an emergency call from the motel that a baby was not breathing. Doctors at Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian determined the skull injuries looked suspicious.