Jurors convict Fresno father, 24, of shaking baby — causing ‘massive’ trauma to head, body
A Fresno County jury has found Nathan Celis guilty of nearly killing his 1-month-old son in what prosecutors said was a case of abusive head trauma — or Shaken Baby Syndrome.
The 24-year-old Celis is facing life in prison with the possibility of parole for the injuries suffered by Baby Nathan on Sept. 4. 2019, said Deputy District Attorney Amy Cobb .
“This baby went through a massive amount of trauma in his very young life,” she said. “He very nearly died.”
The jury reached its verdict in about three hours on Thursday after a five-day trial.
Cobb used medical research, testimony from a doctor, and the defendant’s testimony to piece together the puzzle of how the victim was severely injured and who was responsible.
Celis denied causing the baby’s injuries, pleading not guilty to the charges of assault on a child under 8 resulting in a comatose state and child abuse and endangerment.
The day of the incident, Celis said he came home from his job as a security guard sometime in the morning as the baby’s mother left a few minutes later to run errands.
Antonio Alvarez, his defense attorney, said Celis played his video game for a while, ate some food and then took a nap while the baby was also napping. A few hours later, the baby’s mother returned and found the baby in his bassinet, unresponsive. Emergency medical help was called.
But prosecutor Cobb said it was later revealed that Celis had been trying to put the baby to sleep for at least an hour and a half.
What Cobb proved to the jury was that the type of injuries Baby Nathan suffered, including broken ribs and head trauma, could only have come from the hands of another person.
Dr. Sindhura Kodali from Valley Children’s Healthcare testified said that shaking a baby violently causes a significant amount of pressure on the back and the sides of the ribs, causing them to break.
Cobb said the baby had at least a dozen broken ribs, and signs of blunt force trauma to the head and chest. Cobb also said medical science was able to determine approximately when the trauma happened in relation to when the baby began having trouble breathing.
“We know that this type of injury could only happen as a result of child abuse,” she said. “Once we know what happened we are then able to look at when it occurred and who had access to the child. In this case, we know the defendant was the only person there when the injuries happened.”
The child is now nearly 2 years old and doing fairly well, Cobb said. It remains to be seen if his brain injuries may cause some developmental delays.
Celis’s attorney was also thankful the baby survived. “It is a tragic situation all around,” Alvarez said. “The only silver lining is the child seems to have recovered well. And it is certainly hoped that there won’t be any long-term effects.”
Celis is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 25 in Department 70.
This story was originally published July 17, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
