RICHARDSON, Texas — Authorities say a drunken deaf couple face charges after they confessed to beating their 5-month-old daughter to death because she wouldn’t stop crying.
According to KHOU, 35-year-old Hector Rene Cupich-Quinones of Richardson, is charged with capital murder, and Maria Guadalupe Zuniga, 37, faces a charge of injury to a child.
Per police reports, the incident happened early Sunday morning when Cupich-Quinones — who, like his wife, cannot hear or speak — became angry at the vibrations his daughter’s screams were creating.
“There was a dispute over who was going to take care of the child,” Richardson police spokesman Sgt. Kevin Perlich said. “The child was fussy, and they couldn’t get the child to quiet.”
In order to stop the baby from crying, Hector reportedly shook the baby, but when that didn’t work he hit her head against a counter.
Police reports say he then slid the five-month-old across the counter and she fell head-first onto the tile floor.
When an officer arrived, he found Cupich-Quiñones clutching a child who was “pale, not breathing and had bruises on her arms,” according to a search warrant.
The child was transported to Medical City Dallas, but died Sunday night at 10pm. Hospital staff told police they believed the infant girl was a victim of abuse.
The father originally told police the baby had fallen, according to the arrest warrant, but later admitted he and Zuniga had gotten into an argument over their daughter’s crying after a night of drinking.
Both parents are being held in the Dallas County Jail after their arrests over the weekend.
Cupich-Quiñones’ bond is $1 million and he has an immigration hold. Zuniga’s bond is $750,000.
Readers: What should happen to these two parents?