Additional details were released Thursday afternoon regarding the incident where Fort Riley soldier, Alexander McConnell was arrested for first degree murder and child abuse.
An affidavit from the Riley County Courthouse, indicated the incident took place on Saturday, February 8th at 3 p.m. in a Manhattan apartment. The document indicates McConnel’s wife stated she left McConnell alone with her child for a “matter of minutes”, and re-entered the apartment to discover McConnel in a frantic state. He told the woman the child was not breathing.
EMS responded to the scene, and transported the child to Mercy Regional Health Center. The infant was transported to the Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, MO after being stabilized. The child was pronounced dead at 8 p.m. that evening.
An autopsy revealed the child had substantial bleeding within the skull, a broken neck, and several other injuries. The autopsy also indicated the child died as a consequence of multiple blunt traumatic injuries. And there are indicates of previous abuse, with healed but older injuries including fractured ribs.
McConnell had his first appearance in Riley County District Court, and will have his next appearance on October 14th.
