REPUBLIC COUNTY – The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) has secured the arrest of a man connected to the death of a Belleville infant.
On Thursday, Jan. 2 at approximately 11 a.m., William McLaughlin, 23, of Belleville, was arrested on a KBI warrant for first-degree murder and felony abuse of a child. The charges are connected to the death of McLaughlin’s three-month-old daughter.
The infant was initially brought to the Republic County hospital on Dec. 25. She had suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead in an Omaha hospital on Dec. 29.
Following the arrest, McLaughlin was booked into the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Jail in Nebraska. The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the arrest.
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REPUBLIC COUNTY – The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) is investigating a suspected child abuse case in Belleville.
On Thursday morning, the Belleville Police Department contacted the KBI to investigate after an unresponsive three-month-old infant was transported from the Republic County hospital to a hospital in Omaha, Nebraska.
The child’s parents brought her to the Republic County hospital on Dec. 25, and hospital staff later contacted the Belleville Police Department.
A pediatrician at the Omaha hospital indicated the child has no brain activity due to severe injuries she had sustained. Late Thursday afternoon, KBI reported the infant remains on life support.