Costa Mesa man sentenced for trying to kill his 2- month old baby boy

Orange County District Attorney Press Release

For Immediate Release,  Case # 11NF3109: September 27, 2013

FATHER CAUGHT ON HIDDEN CAMERA SENTENCED TO 13 YEARS TO LIFE IN STATE PRISON FOR ATTEMPTED MURDER OF 2-MONTH-OLD SON FOR SHAKING, STRANGLING, AND SWINGING BABY BY NECK

FULLERTON – A father caught on a hidden video camera was sentenced today to 13 years to life in state prison for attempting to murder his 2-month-old son by swinging him by the neck with a noose-like blanket and repeatedly punching, strangling, and shaking the baby. Joshua Allen Robey, 26, Costa Mesa, was found guilty by a jury Aug. 19, 2013, of one felony count each of attempted murder with premeditation and deliberation, torture, and child abuse with a sentencing enhancement for causing great bodily injury to a child under 5 years old.

In October 2011, Robey had a 2-month-old son, Baby Doe, with his girlfriend of two years. He lived on and off with his girlfriend and her mother in Anaheim until three weeks prior to the attempted murder, at which time he began living in a motel in Costa Mesa.

On Oct. 18, 2011, Robey was at the home of his girlfriend and her mother and had agreed to babysit Baby Doe. Without the defendant’s knowledge, his girlfriend set up a hidden camera in the home because she believed him to be cheating.

While alone with Baby Doe and solely responsible for his care, Robey violently abused and attempted to murder the infant. He wrapped a blanket around the baby’s neck, picked him up by lifting the ends of the blanket like a noose, and swung the victim around for over a minute.

Robey laid Baby Doe back down and punched him several times in the chest with closed fists. On multiple occasions he strangled, slapped and punched the baby and grabbed the victim by the throat with both hands, lifted him in the air, and violently shook him.

At one point while Baby Doe was crying, Robey covered the victim’s mouth with his hand, grabbed him by the neck, and shook him in the air. He attempted to suffocate Baby Doe by covering the victim’s face with a blanket and covering the baby’s mouth with his hand for several seconds. He also covered the victim’s nose and mouth with tape to suffocate the baby.

The baby’s mother discovered the abuse upon watching the video from the hidden camera. The girlfriend’s mother learned of the video the following day and took the baby to the hospital. Hospital staff contacted the Anaheim Police Department (APD), who investigated this case.

Robey was arrested at a motel in Santa Ana by APD officers that night. Baby Doe suffered fractured ribs, bleeding to the brain, and liver injuries.

Deputy District Attorney Barrie Pink of the Family Protection Unit prosecuted this case.

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Tony Rackauckas, District Attorney 401 Civic Center Drive West Santa Ana, CA 92701

Contacts:

Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami Spokesperson Office: 714-347-8405 Cell: 714-323-4486