Burkhammer

FRENCH CREEK — An Upshur County man has been arrested and charged with two felonies, and is accused of abusing a 4-month-old infant.

Jeremiah Burkhammer, 19, is currently housed in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail on a $225,000 cash-only bond. He is charged with child neglect with risk of death or injury, and strangulation.

According to the criminal complaint, the grandmother of the infant contacted the Upshur County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday to report child neglect. Officers with the UCSO were allegedly shown a video of Burkhammer and the victim in their bedroom.

In the video, Burkhammer is first seen telling the infant that they need to sleep, but the baby appears to be smiling, according to the complaint. After sliding down a pillow and attempting to roll over, Burkhammer picked up the infant without supporting the head or neck area and laid the infant down in an aggressive manner, causing the child’s head and neck to rock back-and-forth violently, the video allegedly shows.

According to the complaint, approximately one minute later on the video, the infant rolled over and Burkhammer took the pillow from underneath the victim. Burkhammer then said the child’s name and said “You’re p***ing me the f*** off.” Burkhammer then picked the child up, adjusted another pillow, and threw the infant on the pillow.

Approximately 17 minutes later in the video, the report states Burkhammer is heard yelling “take the freaking bottle” and it appears that he is smacking the child’s chest while the child is crying. While the infant was crying, Burkhammer covered the child’s mouth to silence the crying, according to the complaint.

On the video, Burkhammer tells the victim to “Breathe out your nose, not your mouth,” the complaint states. Burkhammer allegedly held his hand over the infant’s mouth for approximately 28 seconds. During that time, the child’s crying was muffled, and the infant was flailing its arms and legs, according to the complaint.