(Note: Sometimes I lose track of these cases. After posting Zachary Bridwell's arrest in the year-end review on the Turner Report Newsletter and Inside Joplin Facebook page, I discovered that in the months that have passed, Bridwell was bound over for trial and then pleaded guilty and was sentenced in Lawrence County Circuit Court. My apologies for being so late with the story.)
During a September 10 hearing in Lawrence County Circuit Court, Judge Alan Blankenship sentenced Zachary Bridwell to 23 years in prison for assaulting his 5-month-old daughter, 15 years for sexual exploitation of a minor, and seven years for statutory rape. According to the probable cause statement, the victim in the latter two charges was the child's mother, an underage girl.
The crime was detailed in the probable cause statement:
He heard the baby crying, so he entered her room. He removed the child from her crib and grasped her around the neck. He turned the baby around with its back facing toward him. He laid her partially on the floor, but kept ahold of the baby's neck with her torso suspended off the floor. Bridwell stated he shook the head back and forth repeatedly.
Bridwell confessed he intentionally shook the baby's head back and forth approximately seven times. He stated he laid the baby back down, but he immediately picked her up again by the neck and shook her head approximately three more times. He stated he laid the baby back in the crib afterwards. He described her as "groaning. He stated he stuck a pacifier in the baby's mouth. The baby bit down on the pacifier and continued groaning.
He stated the baby's right arm and leg were shaking, but he was unsure if the baby was having a seizure.
The probable cause statement said Bridwell claimed he did not want to kill the child "only hurt her." He told the investigating officer from the Aurora-Marionville Police Department "I got a spurt of blood rage."
A fourth charge against Bridwell, child pornography, due to a sex video he made with the child's underage mother, was dismissed.
The Aurora-Marionville Police Department became involved after being notified by the Children's Division of the child abuse. The baby had "significant brusing," head injuries and suffered a stroke.
More information can be found in the original Turner Report post at the link below.
5 comments:
Where the heck are the parents of the underage girl?! No family to step in?
Zachary Bridwell - Is a Violent Child Abuser, who deserves whatever Hell he will receive in Life and the Afterlife. No Child should ever be Treated in such a Vicious and Violent Manner - Children are Gifts of God and I Hope that this Young Girl is given whatever Help in Life that she can to overcome such an early Traumatic and Violent Assaults that she had to endure.
My Question - is was her Mother Charged - It sounds like she had Knowledge that Zachary Bridwell was abusing this Poor Child?
she was also a victim in this case. she’s the minor that was assaulted.
Randy, your lead in "sometimes I forget about these cases"reminded me to ask if you were ever aware of any follow up info regarding Steve Lea and the death of Kevin Watson on the 4th of July? Were charges determined in the fatality?
Is that the former Joplin Fire Department Steve Lea?
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