Burnsville man charged in infant son's death
A Burnsville man was charged today with first-degree murder in the death of his 8-month-old son.
Investigators say the infant was shaken severely and had bruises all over his body. On Saturday afternoon, the child's mother left him in the care of his father, 29-year-old Jesse Dean Hummel. She returned to her Bloomington apartment to find her child dead and Hummel missing.
Police say they found Hummel later that night under a tree in the area, and had to use a police dog to help apprehend him.
Hummel has an extensive criminal history, according to the criminal complaint. In 1999, he was convicted of two counts of domestic assault. In 2002, Hummel was convicted of felony malicious punishment of a child. The victim in that case was Hummel's older child by a different woman.
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Hummel was also convicted of "domestic assault by strangulation" in 2006. The mother of the 8-month-old boy was the victim of that assault, according to the complaint.
If convicted, Hummel faces life imprisonment. He is being held in the Hennepin County jail, which does not allow inmates to take calls from the press for comment on criminal charges.
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Information from KSTP-TV
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)