Dad Is Charged With Murder 23 Years After Shaking Baby Son, Leaving Him in Vegetative State

A father has been charged with murder, 23 years after shaking his baby son so hard he suffered catastrophic brain damage, leaving him in a vegetative coma.

A father who served nearly five years for shaking his infant son so hard he suffered irreparable brain damage is behind bars again, charged with murdering his child.

Christopher Barber is accused of homicide in the death last year of his 23-year-old son, who remained in a vegetative state and hooked to a respirator for his entire life after being shaken as a two-month-old, authorities said.

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Barber, 46, was arraigned Wednesday and pleaded not guilty. He is being held without bail in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, The Associated Press reported Thursday. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 14.

Christopher Kostenbader's death last May was ruled a homicide by a pathologist, saying he succumbed to "complications due to the severe head injury that occurred in 1991 at the hands of the defendant."

Court records did not list an attorney for Barber, The AP said.

Read: 7-Month-Old Baby Receives Donor Heart and Escapes Death with Moments to Spare

Barber told police his baby would not stop crying in 1991 while he was being fed. He shook Christopher and threw him on the couch, where the baby bounced at least twice, he told investigators.

At a local hospital, doctors found "tons of damage" to the infant's brain, bleeding behind his eyes and broken ribs, according to court documents, the wire service said. Christopher was diagnosed with shaken baby syndrome.

Barber pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and other charges. He was paroled in 1997. His son's condition never changed.

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