Stepfather Arrested After Infant Dies of Skull Injuries

NEWPORT BEACH — A motel manager on Monday admitted inflicting fatal head injuries on his 9-day-old stepson after losing his temper because the child was cranky, police said.

Zonith Shaw, 22, was arrested on suspicion of murder and held without bail at the Newport Beach Police Department jail after the boy, Anthony, died Sunday of skull fractures.

An autopsy Monday determined that the child died of the skull injuries and was the victim of child abuse, police Sgt. Pat O’Sullivan said.

When police confronted Shaw with that finding, he admitted causing the injuries, saying he “exploded,” O’Sullivan said.

Shaw lost his temper because the child was cranky, Sgt. Mike McDonough said.

Shaw and the child’s mother, whom police did not name, lived at the Pine Knot Motel in the 6300 block of West Coast Highway, authorities said. A recorded telephone message at the motel’s office said no one was available there Monday evening.

A girl toddler living at the home has been placed in Orangewood Children’s Home, McDonough said.

Paramedics were called to the motel shortly before 11 a.m. Saturday after receiving a report that a baby was not breathing, police said. The infant was taken to Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, where doctors determined he had sustained suspicious-looking skull fractures, police said.

The boy was pronounced dead at 2:10 a.m. Sunday.

Shaw is expected to be arraigned Wednesday at Municipal Court in Newport Beach.