WINFIELD, W.Va. — A Putnam County man appeared in court Thursday to face charges in the death of his five-week-old son.
Robert Jeremy Smith, 33, of Hurricane, was in tears as he waived his right to a preliminary hearing. Last week, Smith was found in a vehicle in Kanawha City with the baby in a car seat. Madden Smith had been dead for at least 27-hour. Smith had a knife wound to his neck, an apparent attempt at suicide.
Investigators believe Madden was killed at Smith’s home in Hurricane. The baby suffered multiple skull fractures. Smith told investigators, “The baby is dead; I killed the baby.”
Smith is being held in the Western Regional Jail on $500,000 bail. He is now on suicide watch.
Meanwhile, Madden’s twin sister, Madeline, remains in the neo-natal intensive care unit at CAMC Women and Children’s Hospital. She was born with a severe birth defect.
Family members said Smith and his wife separated soon after the birth of the twins and he’d been under a lot of stress.
Smith had previously been charged with child neglect in a separate case.