Beaten Baby Goes Home From Hospital; Family Plans to Move

One month after a 6-year-old neighbor allegedly beat him nearly to death, 2-month-old Ignacio Bermudez went home from the hospital Thursday, with his doctors predicting that the infant will suffer the lifelong effects of severe brain damage.

“The likelihood is that he will have long-term problems and need assistance for the rest of his life,” said Dr. Robert Haining, director of pediatric rehabilitation at Children’s Hospital of Oakland.

Haining said it is possible that the infant may never walk or may have difficulty seeing. The baby suffered damage to the left side and back of his brain, including sections controlling movement and the ability to make sense of what the eyes are seeing, Haining said.

Facing a crush of reporters at a hospital news conference, the infant’s parents said they were happy to be taking Ignacio home, but nervous about what lies ahead.

Cradling her son in her arms, Maria Carmen Bermudez said her plan for coping with the baby’s likely disabilities is straightforward.

“Just taking care of him very much,” she said, speaking with the help of a translator. “Giving him a lot of attention, simply dedicating myself to him.”

After the news conference, the family prepared to return to its apartment in Richmond’s Iron Triangle neighborhood, where the baby was attacked when the 6-year-old and two 8-year-old playmates allegedly entered the home to steal a Big Wheel tricycle.

But the infant’s father said the family plans to move to another part of Richmond by Sunday.

Ignacio Bermudez said he is moving his wife and four children because he is concerned for their safety and because “I really don’t want to see the same place where this happened.”

The 6-year-old charged with attempting to murder Ignacio remained in Juvenile Hall in nearby Martinez, where he is the youngest resident. Probation authorities said they are having difficulty locating a group home in the area equipped to handle so young a boy, who requires constant supervision. He is undergoing court-ordered psychological testing. The results of that could influence how his case is handled.

In Juvenile Court proceedings after the baby’s beating, Contra Costa County prosecutor Harold Jewett said the 6-year-old entered the Bermudez apartment with his friends, the 8-year-old twin boys, who stood by as he pulled the infant from his bassinet and pummeled him.

The baby’s parents had briefly left him with his 18-year-old stepsister, who police say was in the bathroom when the assault took place.

The twins have been charged with robbery in connection with the theft of the tricycle, and the 6-year-old was charged with the more serious assault on the infant as well as robbery and conspiracy.

After spending less than a week at Juvenile Hall, the twins were released this month to relatives living outside the Iron Triangle neighborhood. They are due back in court in June for a hearing.

Attorneys for all three boys have said they are too young to face criminal prosecution. But Jewett says their taped confessions to police show that the boys recognize the difference between right and wrong and knew that their actions in the Bermudez apartment were wrong.

The infant, who was swaddled in blankets, slept through Thursday’s press conference, sucking on a pacifier as his brothers Elias, 3, and Javier, 2, fidgeted impatiently in their father’s lap. Their sister, 1-year-old Carmen, was not present.

In reporting on the baby’s condition, Haining said Ignacio will immediately begin a program of once-a-week physical therapy, initially focused on teaching his parents “how to handle him.” The hospital, the doctor said, will track his development.

“The baby has suffered a profound brain injury,” Haining said. “What this will mean lifelong we don’t know.”

He said the infant, who spent more than two weeks in intensive care breathing with the help of a respirator, now is drinking from a bottle and moving his arms and legs. But the movements are not normal, Haining said, and brain scans show that certain areas of the organ have died.

“The areas of damage are diffuse,” he said. “With this degree of injury, his development is at very high risk of being abnormal.”

The infant is on anti-seizure medication because of the risk of epilepsy, Haining said.

Bermudez said he was encouraged by seeing his son move, cry and “do many of the things a normal baby does.” But he added that he is worried about how the family will cope with the high costs of caring for the injured baby.

“I just have to rely on my faith in God that things are going to work out,” he said.

Meanwhile, Richmond City Councilman John Marquez announced the establishment of a fund to aid the Bermudez family. Donations can be sent to St. Mark’s/Bermudez Family Fund, 59 Harbor Way, Richmond, CA 94801.