Authorities in New York have charged a man with murder and manslaughter after he allegedly shook his 3-month-old daughter to death because “she was screaming” and wouldn’t stop crying. According to ABC7 New York, the suspect, identified as 23-year-old Damion Comager, called his parents on May 14 when he later realized his daughter Genevieve had died after he shook her.
In the wake of the incident, Comager is said to have panicked and disposed of his daughter’s body at the Major Deegan Expressway after putting her in a bag. The location wasn’t too far from the shelter they were staying.
The deceased minor’s grandfather ultimately notified a priest about the baby’s death, saying that he intended to “do the right thing” by reporting the incident to the police, who later found the baby’s body in a wooded area on the aforementioned date after they spoke with Comager and the mother of the baby. The body was located under a pedestrian overpass.
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Following the baby’s death, Comager told Genevieve’s grandfather that he allegedly shook her in an attempt to get her to stop crying, officials said, per ABC7 New York. The deceased minor’s grandfather also told CBS2 that though he felt the fatal incident was unintentional, he still needed to speak.
“He told me that he shook her because she was screaming, and he went to sleep, and he woke up and she was stiff, she was cold,” he said in relation to what his son told him.
Comager told reporters he loved his daughter when police put him in a squad car. The suspect also said what he did was a “mistake” when he was asked if he shook the minor, per ABC7 New York.
Neighbors who spoke with the news outlet also said the baby’s life could have been saved if the couple had just asked for help. “That baby deserved a life. I don’t care what the circumstances are. There’s the fire department, take that baby and drop it off,” a neighbor said.
Genevieve’s mother, Ivana Paolozzi, 20, has also been charged with concealment of a human corpse and obstructing governmental administration.
