A Wisconsin woman has been arrested after she reportedly admitted to have killed a 3-month-old baby. According to a WISC TV report, the woman, identified as 31-year-old Renae L. Bellis, hit the baby multiple times in a fit of rage because the baby “ would not stop screaming .” Renae is reported to be a resident of the town of Boscobel in Wisconsin. The woman now faces a first-degree reckless homicide charge for causing the death of an infant, officials confirm.
The circumstances leading up to the incident are still being investigated by local authorities. According to SW News , the incident happened on the morning of July 9 when around 8:24 a.m., the Boscobel Police Department received a call reporting about a deceased baby. Officers were dispatched to the scene followed by a brief investigation which resulted in the arrest of a man. Police officials later revealed that the arrested man is the baby girl’s father, identified as 39-year-old Mark T. Rand. The man was held at the Grant County Jail for First Degree Reckless Homicide. However, he was later let off after they deduced that it was Bellis and not Rand that was behind the death of the baby. Earlier, Bellis had also reportedly complained to officials claiming that she knew that Rand had harmed the baby and that it was she who found the baby dead on Saturday.
Authorities: Boscobel woman slapped, shook child; blamed injuries on baby’s father https://t.co/x22HflyBht pic.twitter.com/oKwbu6WRM9
— Telegraph Herald (@TelegraphHerald) July 12, 2016
This was confirmed in a criminal complaint filed in a local court on Monday in which Bellis told police officials that she saw the infant’s father hitting her and shaking her early Saturday morning. She changed her statement the very next day and admitted to officers that she had lied. On the same day, she made the shocking revelation that it was her that killed the baby, apparently in a fit of rage. Renae revealed that on the day of the incident, she was trying to feed the baby using a bottle. However, the baby refused to drink and kept on screaming. Renae said she lost patience and suddenly snapped. She started slapping the a baby multiple times on her face and the buttocks. She had hit the baby so hard that there were cuts and bruises on the child’s face. The baby also bled a lot, following which Renae used a onesie to wipe the blood off the baby’s body.
Details pertaining to the case were revealed on Tuesday afternoon following a press conference called by Boscobel police chief Chief Todd Stenner. He described the case to be “very challenging” while adding that the death of an infant has affected the people investigating the case. He also confirmed that Mark T. Rand was cleared of the crime and was released.
“We all have worked many years in law enforcement. But anytime there’s a death of a child and even more so an infant, it affects us and makes it very challenging.”
According to police officials, Bellis also shook the little baby girl violently while holding her at arm’s length. She also kept the baby on a swing as it continued crying. In fact, after the baby died, Bellis behaved as if nothing had happened and switched on the TV. Even when the father got home, she was watching TV. Rand was under the impression that the child had gone to sleep.
Police arrest suspect in Boscobel death investigation of baby girl #news3 https://t.co/wJmOhQpZFm pic.twitter.com/Q4cRIHkxze
— WISCTV News 3 (@WISCTV_News3) July 10, 2016
Meanwhile, an autopsy has been performed on the baby girl following which bruises were found on almost every part of her little body. The cause of death was “blunt force trauma.” The report also said that there were pools of blood inside the baby’s skull and brain.
The woman, Renae L. Bellis is being currently held at the Grant County Jail on a $25,000 cash bond.
This extremely disturbing incident has come to light just days after The Inquisitr reported about the tragic death of baby Ariana who was brutally raped and killed by her mother’s boyfriend.
[Image Via Boscobel Police Department]