A 20 year-old Bremerton man is in custody at the Kitsap County Jail following an investigation into the death of his three month-old infant daughter, according to the Kitsap County Sheriff’s office.

It was determined that the infant died from injuries suffered as a result of what is commonly referred to as “shaken baby syndrome.”

The incident occurred as the suspect and his girlfriend were staying as guests of a military dependent, in base housing, on Naval Base Kitsap – Bangor. The suspect is not a member of the U. S. Armed Forces.

The Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office received a call from a social worker at Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital, Tacoma, early Saturday morning to report suspected child abuse.

The infant was being treated at Mary Bridge after having been transported there from Harrison Medical Center, Silverdale Friday night. Doctor’s suspected the child’s injuries were as a result of physical abuse.

Sheriff’s detectives responded to the hospital and contacted the treating physicians who advised that the infant had suffered brain injuries and was in critical condition. The infant ultimately died of her injuries on Sunday.

Detectives contacted both parents of the infant and determined that she had been left with her father while her mother attended a function in Seattle. While watching his daughter, the suspect admittedly became “frustrated” with the child due to her crying.

He admitted to holding her by the arms and shaking her “very hard” as well as striking her in the forehead before she ultimately became unresponsive.The suspect also advised that he tripped and fell while walking the baby to a couch and that she “fell from his shoulders to the ground,” striking the ground very hard. The suspect admitted that for the next hour and a half he tried to “make it look like nothing happened” in the residence before eventually asking for help from a neighbor.

Military police and aid responded and began treatment on the infant before she was transported to Harrison Medical Center and subsequently to Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital.

The suspect was arrested Saturday afternoon and initially booked into jail on a charge of assault of a child, 1st degree. Those charges were amended to murder, 2nd degree (domestic violence) after the death of the victim. Bail was initially set at $750,000.

The suspect is scheduled to make an initial appearance at 3 p.m. today in Kitsap County District Court.