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Prosecutor: Father Threw Baby Against Sofa, Caused Fatal Injuries

SANTA ANA (CBS) — A father of two demonstrated to police, using a stuffed animal, how he threw his 2-month-old daughter against a couch, causing injuries that led to her death, a prosecutor told an Orange County jury Tuesday.

Christian Trinidad Gonzalez, 25, is also accused of shaking his daughter, Iliana, and causing further injury. He is charged with one felony count of murder and one felony count of assault on a child with force likely to produce great bodily injury resulting in death.

Prosecutors said Gonzalez became frustrated when the infant started to cry. He reportedly began violently throwing her onto a couch and then shaking her, after realizing she was not breathing.

Iliana, who never regained consciousness, was taken to the St. Joseph Hospital of Orange.

Doctors called police after finding injuries consistent with abusive head trauma, including bleeding inside her head, severe retinal hemorrhages, and brain swelling, according to prosecutors.

She was kept on ventilators for two days after being declared dead on March 19, 2009.

Gonzalez initially told police he had left the child on the couch and when he returned from the bathroom five minutes later, she was not breathing.

Authorities said he later admitted to throwing his daughter against the couch.

If convicted, Gonzalez faces 25 years to life in prison.

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