A Chester County man who told police he threw his five-month-old daughter in frustration after being called a "failure" at playing the video game "Call of Duty" has been charged with the baby's murder.
Zion Isaiah Shockley, 18 and of Coatesville, was charged with first-degree murder.
On Feb. 10, Coatesville police officers responded to a call about an infant in cardiac arrest, prosecutors said. Paramedics transported the child, in critical condition, to Brandywine Hospital and later A.I. DuPont Hospital for Children, where she died two days later.
Rosalie Faith Crothers-Shockley's extensive injuries included hemorrhages in the brain and eyes, according to a press release from the Chester County District Attorney.
The incident was investigated by Coatesville Police and Chester County detectives, who found the child's injuries were consistent with head trauma. They also found signs of previous abuse, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors say that Shockley shared custody with the child's mother but was the child's primary caretaker at the time that she went into cardiac arrest.
Police said Shockley confessed to shaking the infant out of frustration due to the video game some time around Christmas.
Local
Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
He also admitted that on Feb. 10 -- after another video game player "told him he was a failure" at "Call of Duty" -- he picked up the girl, tossed her in the air multiple times without catching her and then shook her violently, according to a police report.
"An infant can not defend herself. A baby can not run away or call for help. A five-month-old can not tell people what is happening to her. A baby is the most vulnerable and innocent victim possible," Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan said in a statement. "Now it is our job to do what this baby could not, and deliver justice to the killer."
Shockley is currently in custody at Chester County Prison and is not eligible for bail.
