Parents Charged In 3-Month-Old's Death Face Ocean County Court Hearings

TOMS RIVER, NJ — The Lakewood parents charged with murder in the death of their 3-month-old daughter have been ordered held in the Ocean County Jail until trial.

Ruben Santiago, 36, was ordered held Tuesday by Superior Court Judge David M. Fritch during his detention hearing, and Caitlin M. Gibson, 28, was ordered Wednesday by Superior Court Judge Wendel E. Daniels to remain in jail during her detention hearing.

Santiago had offered multiple explanations for what happened leading up to the couple's baby being taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center on the evening of May 5, when Gibson called 911 to request help because the baby was limp and unresponsive, according to the probable cause affidavit. The couple also has another young child.

The baby girl was pronounced dead May 6, and Santiago and Gibson were charged with murder May 7, following an autopsy by the Ocean County Medical Examiner that found the baby had two skull fractures and a subdural hematoma. Dr. Elizabeth Rouse ruled the death homicide as the result of blunt force trauma, authorities said.

The baby also had seven broken ribs and a fractured wrist that were in the process of healing at the time of her death, Rouse said in her report.

Gibson declined to speak with law enforcement at the time of her arrest, authorities said. At the hospital, she told officers that the baby had been vomiting on May 3 and had been taken to the emergency room to be examined. The girl was given intravenous fluids and released from the hospital, according to the affidavit.

The baby continued to vomit the following day, and on May 5, Santiago noticed she was limp when he changed her diaper, between 6 and 7 p.m., the affidavit said. Gibson called 911 about 7:20 p.m. that day, according to the affidavit.

In court Wednesday, Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Meghan O'Neill said evidence collected in the case includes a search on Gibson's phone on May 3 for information regarding a bump on a baby's head. That bump was not reported to law enforcement, she said.

She urged Daniels to order Gibson held in spite of multiple character letters submitted via Gibson's attorney, Mitchell Ansell.

The infant's broken ribs and fractured wrist raise concerns of "an ongoing pattern of abuse over the short 3 months of her life," O'Neill said. "Ms. Gibson either inflicted these injuries on her daughter or knew and did not disclose them."

"This is not anything the state wants to say about any parent," O'Neill said.

The people who provided character letters for Gibson were not "within the four walls of the apartment when the baby was rushed to the hospital limp and not breathing," O'Neill said. The only people who know what happened are the couple, who were in the apartment with their children that weekend. The couple has another young child, O'Neill said, but that child's age was not mentioned during the hearing.

Gibson's next court date is set for June 23, Daniels said.